You've Got a Friend
by DarkElements10
Summary: -COMPLETED- For a publicity stunt, Jake thinks that McFly should go to school. After a lot of protesting, they give in and attend Lakeshore High in L.A. Even if they’re most popular guys in school, that doesn’t mean that they’ll get everything on a silveR
1. Prologue

**You've Got a Friend**

**Summary**** – For a publicity stunt, Jake thinks that McFly should go back to school. After a lot of protesting, they give in an attend Lakeshore High School. Even if they're most popular guys in school, that doesn't mean that they'll get everything on a silver platter.**

**-----**

_**Prologue**_

"You want us to do what?"

Jake Hardin winced and dove back behind a wall, barely dodging four pillows that flew towards his head. He walked back out, making sure that the four teenage boys weren't armed in any way, before sitting down in the chair that was a cross from them.

The four teenage boys weren't just ordinary boys; they were the famous British Pop Band, McFly. Well, to be corrected, they were the _shocked_ famous British pop band, McFly. They were shocked because Jake, their manager, just thought that it would be a good idea for them to go back to school.

"You want us to go back to school?" Tom Fletcher, the guitar/vocals of the band, repeated the question to make sure he heard right.

"And I _just_ got out of school too" Dougie Poynter, bass/backing vocals, said as he threw his hands into the air, shaking his head in disbelief.

"How could you even come up with a stupid idea?" Harry Judd, drummer, asked glaring at Jake.

"What are you guys talking about? This is great!" Danny Jones, guitar/vocals, said with a grin. He cried out in pain as Tom, Dougie, and Harry slapped him on the arms and on the head. "What? Think about it, there are going to be lots of girls there. And we don't have to worry about not being able to date them anymore."

"I see where you're coming from," Tom said quickly. "But I _don't want to go back to school."_

"Me either" Dougie and Harry said in unison, shaking their heads and crossing their arms over their chests.

"Ok, let me put it this way," Jake said, rubbing his nose. "This will make you guys even more famous, and you'll be able to get more fans this way," he looked up at the four of them and saw the four of them glaring back at him. Jake rolled his eyes. "And what Danny said about being able to date is a bonus too."

"Guys?" Tom asked his friends. They crowded around each other and whispered to each other for a few minuets before sitting back to give Jake their answer.

"Fine."

* * *

**A/N: Well, this is the prologue to the new story. What did you think? I'm also thinking of changing the title to it, but I'm not sure. Maybe you guys could help me with that.**


	2. Chapter 1: Lakeshore High School

**Chapter One – Lakeshore High School**

"A boarding school?" Dougie yelped, looking out the window of the rental car. "A boarding school? Did Jake ever say _anything_ about a boarding school? Did it ever say that in the brochure? Did it-"

"SHUT UP!" Tom, Harry, and Danny shouted in unison and continued to stare out the front window.

They were annoyed of Dougie's constant talking. He had been talking all the way from the airport in London, to them packing the car, and he kept talking when they were on the road, pulling away from LAX to find the school. Dougie pouted and slouched in his seat.

"This school is big" Danny said, pointing out the obvious. Tom and Harry looked at him and shook their heads. "Hmm, I wonder which building we're going to live in."

"We're not going to find out if we stay in this car, come on, and let's get our stuff" Tom sighed and got out of the car. Danny, Harry, and Dougie followed them, and looked at the buildings that were now his home.

Dougie stared at the building made of stone, there were three separate buildings. The two smaller buildings he assumed were where the dorms were and the bigger one was probably where the classes were held. He shrugged and continued to look through the brochure that Jake had given each of them to study up on the school before they attended.

"AHA!" He shouted.

"What?" Tom asked, standing up straight from being bent over the trunk. His head collided with the door and his hands flew to the hit spot on his head. "OUCH!"

"Aha what, Dougie?" Harry asked the 16 year old.

"It doesn't say anywhere on here that Lakeshore is a boarding school" Dougie said proudly, waving the brochure over his head.

"Yes, but it _does_ say on here that we have to get our schedules before we get to our dorm." Harry said as he pointed to a sign in front of the school.

"Bloody hell, it _does_ say that," Danny said as he gazed at the sign.

"Let's try the main building then" Tom said and the four of them started to walk to the main building. All of a sudden, they heard someone curse and then someone on a skateboard swerved around Dougie, almost hitting him on the shoulder.

"Watch where you're going!" the person shouted over their shoulder.

"Why don't you, dude!" Dougie shot back. "I was walking here first."

"Dougie" Harry moaned. Tom, Harry, and Danny always cursed Dougie when he said whatever was on his mind. It always got him into trouble, and it got the rest of them in trouble too.

The person on the skateboard turned around, jumping to the ground and flipping the skateboard into their hand. The McFly boys stared in shock.

"He's a she" Danny said, even though it was obvious.

"Yeah, there are a thing called girls in the world you dag." She said, turning her fierce blue gaze to him. And then she turned back to Dougie, taking off her helmet, to show that she had black hair with a red streak in it. "As for you, you're lucky I didn't plow you into the ground."

With that, she turned and ran into the school.

"Dougie, I wouldn't be surprised if you're dead tomorrow morning." Tom said as he bit back his laughter. Dougie shrugged.

"You said the same thing about that Daniel Radcliff guy, and I'm still fine" Dougie shrugged off the comment.

They walked to the building on the left which was bigger then buildings to the right. They walked through glass doors to this great lobby with shiny marble floor and great long walls that was half stone half regular wall that was kind of golden tinted beige. There was a receptionist desk that was also lined with stone. All in all it gave the feel of a hotel lobby.

Tom walked up to the receptionist desk to check in and they directed the four boys to where the gym was. They walked through this great hallway which had the same floor and walls as the lobby.

"This school must have taken millions to build." Danny speculated.

"Well, this is the town with multi-million dollar made movies, it doesn't surprise me" Harry said, shaking his head.

But the boys were surprised when they walked into the gym and it looked like a regular high school gym with faux polished wood floors and high ceilings, basketball hoops, and basketball lines on the floor.

There were bleachers pulled out with maybe about a thousand or so students and parents that occupied them. Dougie tried to ignore all the conversations that were giving him a headache but couldn't. He hated school assemblies, and this was one of the reasons that he wished he had never agreed to go back to school. I mean, he just got out of school a year ago, why go back now?

The four boys sat in empty seats in the middle. Danny around, most of the kids looked about is age, some older some younger. While he was looking around his eyes fell on one person in particular. She was a girl who looked around his age. She had black hair with a purple strand.

He tried to see her face but she was sitting two rows down so all he could manage to see was the side of her face every time she turned to say something to her father he assumed. Someone with a microphone had started to talk and he turned his attention to the front.

"Students of Lakeshore Boarding school welcome! I am Miss Crumpling the vice principal. Today you will be getting your class schedule, touring the building, setting up your rooms, and meeting your roommates. When you get your schedules you will notice how some of the classes are like regular school classes like math, English, science, social studies, PE, and tech ed, while you also get some free periods Now to explain all the rules your principal, Mr. Metcalfe!"

Tom, Harry, Danny, and Dougie watched as Miss Crumpling flipped her frizzy curly hair over her shoulder and handed the microphone to a five foot seven man with salt and pepper hair and an upper lip moustache.

"Hi I'm your principal Mr. Metcalfe! We aren't too strict so we don't have too many rules but when a rule is broken we will come down hard on any violators." He said looking around at the crowd and then went on.

"Okay the first rule is never, ever get in a fight. You will either be academically or physically suspended or expelled. The second rule is no skipping classes or being tardy and that's pretty self-explanatory. The third rule is no milling around campus after ten pm. seniors and juniors have until 11 pm. The fourth rule is after nine-thirty boys are not allowed in girls dorms and girls are not allowed in boy's dorms. Those three rules basically cover everything. So students come grab you schedules and dorm room numbers on the tables behind me, their organized alphabetically by last name." He turned the mic off and walked over to the petite Miss Crumpling.

Tom went over and got his schedule.

First Hour- English Mr. Shannon RM A52 8:00 am- 8:50am

Second Hour-Geometry Ms. Philips RM C253 9:00am-9:50am

Third Hour- Physical Education Mr. Glacier RM B134 10:00am-10:50

Fourth Hour-Study Hall Mrs. Sanchez RM B141 11:00- 11:50

Second Lunch 11:50am-12:30pm Announcements.

Fifth Hour- Activity's Period Miss Robin RM A14 12:40pm-1:30pm

Sixth Hour- Science Ms. Lowell RM A56 1:40pm-2:30pm

Seventh Hour- Social Studies Mr. Slate RM B125 2:40pm-3:30pm

Eighth Hour- Studies Mr. Philae RM C274 3:40pm- 4:30pm

"Since when do they have eight hours?" Tom asked, looking around in confusion.

"Different schools have different hours; the last school I went to had seven"

Tom looked around a saw a girl with shoulder length brown hair and green eyes looking back at him.

"Thanks" he finally found his voice.

"No problem" the girl replied and walked away as Dougie, Danny, and Harry went over to Tom.

"Who was that bird?" Harry asked with a small smile. Tom shrugged.

"No one, what dorm rooms do you guys have?" he asked instead. "I have room 283 in Fulton Hall."

"Same here." Harry agreed.

"And Dougie and I are sharing a room." Danny said and made a face, thinking about his friend's weird habits before going to sleep.

"That sucks" Tom shrugged.

"You want to know something that sucks?" Dougie snapped back. "What sucks is that fact that you all are older than me and you all have-"

"Seniority, sweet!" Danny declared and he, Harry, and Tom high-fived. Dougie glared at them.

"Don't forget, I know where you live, and I know what bothers you guys the most." Dougie warned them.

"Whatever." Danny said, although he was still grinning.

"Welcome to Lakeshore guys, this is going to be our home for a while." Tom said with a small smile.

"Not unless I can get Jake to get me out of here, I hate school!" Dougie swore.

"ENOUGH!" Danny and Harry shouted back at him.


	3. Chapter 2: Does School Help You In Life?

**A/N: This chapter is centered on Dougie and Riley and the next one will be centered on the others.**

* * *

**Chapter Two – Does School Really Help You In Life?**

"Dougie, wake up" Harry said, shaking the young boys' arm. He rolled his eyes and turned back to Tom and Danny, who were standing over the young boy. Danny cocked his head to the side.

"Have any of you noticed how Dougie sleeps sitting up?" he asked.

"No, because I don't want him sleep," Tom replied. "And unlike you, I'm not gay."

"Hey, I'm not-"Harry interrupted Danny.

"Let's just roll him out of the bed that works in all of the movies" he suggested. Tom and Danny shrugged and the three of them moved to one side of the bed and lifted the end, causing Dougie roll to the floor.

"What do you guys want, I need my ten hours of sleep," Dougie groaned, grabbing his pillow from his bed and laying back down.

"Not when you have to go to school" Tom said and yanked Dougie's blanket off of him. Dougie blindly reached for the blanket again.

"What are you talking about?" he muttered into the pillow. "We're not in school anymore. We're the famous band, McFly, who doesn't have to go to school."

"That'd be true, if you were talking about last month." Harry replied. "We go to Lakeshore now, and school starts in exactly 10 minuets. That won't be enough time for you to get dressed and get to class."

Dougie suddenly sat up, his eyes wide. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, look around you" Danny said and motioned to their bedroom. "And now, look at the clock," he pointed to the clock, and then looked down at the watch that was on his wrist. "And Dougie is going to scream in 3…2…1"

"YOU ONLY WOKE ME UP FOR THAT?" Dougie screamed, leaping to his feet as if someone dumped ice water on him. "I'M GOING BACK TO SLEEP!"

"No you're not!" Tom cried and grabbed Dougie's arm, keeping him from moving as he reached for the bed. "C'mon, get dressed."

"No, I'm not going back to school!" Dougie replied and frantically tried to get out of Tom's grasp.

"You don't have a choice" Tom replied, grunting as he pulled back on Dougie's arms.

"Yeah, and you also don't have a choice of being ugly, let me sleep!" Dougie shot back. Tom glared and tackled him to the ground.

"Just for that, I'm going to _force_ you to go to class." Tom growled.

"Wow, this is _so_ much more interesting than cable." Danny said as he shook his head, watching his friends fight.

"Yeah, but we're going to have to get to class, I'm sure Tom with catch up," Harry replied as he shrugged them other.

"Do we really have to go?" Danny asked, turning to him. "I mean, does school really help you in life?"

"I don't think so," Harry replied truthfully. "But Jake will find someway to kill us if we don't go along with the whole school thing."

"True, Jake seems to know everything. Let's go" Danny said and followed Harry out of the classroom.

* * *

"Hey, is this Ms. Simmons' English class?" Dougie asked grudgingly as he stood in the doorway of the classroom, late.

Tom was going to make him pay for that later. As soon as Dougie spoke, the students in the classroom turned and looked at him. He mentally made a face as he saw the girls look at him and fluff up their hair and check their make up in small compact mirrors. He smirked at the guys that were staring back at him, feeling threatened.

"Yes, you must be Douglas Poynter," Ms. Simmons replied, Dougie looked her over. She looked like the type of teacher who always had a 'sour face'. "Just because you're in a famous band doesn't mean that you're going to get special treatment. Just ask Riley Jackson, she'll tell you the same thing."

And he was right.

"Now go sit down," Ms. Simmons turned around and continued to write on the chalkboard. Dougie shrugged and made his way to one of the empty desks at the back of the room.

He sat down and transfixed his gaze on the front of the room, looking just above the teachers' head. He didn't want to look like he was paying attention, because that would ruin his whole 'I Hate School' attitude. A few minuets later, the door burst open and a girl walked into the room calmly.

"Ah, I was wondering when I'd see you, Riley Jackson. Late for your first day again, I see." Ms. Simmons said without turning around. Dougie sat up in his seat and gazed at the person in the doorway. He smirked when he recognized her as the girl who almost ran into him a couple days before.

"Yeah, well, I didn't want to disappoint you and not come at all," she replied and gave a small smile. It was obvious that she had known Ms. Simmons for a while from the way she talked to the teacher. With that, she turned and went to her seat, which was a few seats behind Dougie and next to a girl that has almost black hair with natural red  
highlights, green eyes. He leaned back a little bit to hear what they were saying.

"Wow, you really made her show us her sour face early this year, Riles."

"Shut up, Jacqui." Riley snapped back.

"Ok, so, for the first project of the year," Ms. Simmons ignored the groans that came from the students in her class. "You're going to be paired up with a partner and discuss the aspects of Human Nature. And then find some sort of way to present that to the whole class."

"Ms. Simmons, can we-"

"No, Jacqui, you _can not_ pick your partners." Ms .Simmons replied in monotone. "I've already picked them. So you can just blow the idea of you and Miss. Jackson being partners. You're going to be partners with…John Ackerson."

"Damn" Dougie heard Riley mutter and he snickered to himself.

Dougie zoned out and doodled little drawing of space aliens and space ships and other things like that as other names were called out and partners were assigned.

"Douglas Poynter…your partner is…what a coincidence the two rock stars. Douglas, your partner is Riley Jackson."

Dougie turned around in his seat and looked at Riley, ignoring the jealous looks from the other girls, who stared back at him, a suspicious, yet curious look on her face. Shaking her head, she looked back at the teacher, to hear the rest of the assignment. Dougie didn't pay attention and ignored everyone who was shuffling beside him, until Riley suddenly dropped into the chair that was across from him.

"Let me just tell you one thing," she said causing Dougie to blink in surprise and then smile in amusement. "I'm not going to be doing all of the work."

"Sure, but because of that, you must think I have an idea, or even give a shit about this kind of thing." Dougie replied.

"Are you always such a smartass?" Riley asked in a sarcastic tone, cocking her head to the side, her streak of red hair falling into her blue eyes.

"Depends, are you a bossy person?" Dougie shot back evenly. Riley cursed under her breath and turned to ask the teacher a question.

"Yes, what is it Riley?" Ms. Simmons asked with an edge to her tone.

"Yeah, for this presentation, does it have to be completed with the definition of what Human Nature is to _us_, or what people normally think of it?" Riley asked in reply. Dougie went back to his drawing, uninterested, and let Riley do the rest of the work, while she cursed at him for the next 30 minuets.

"I'm taking a guess you're not a school person" Riley asked dryly as they got their stuff together when the bell rang.

"Have you been watching me or something?" Dougie replied.

"Observing is a better word for it."

"Its ok if you're like the other girls, I know I'm good looking. You don't have to get into it too. Unless you like that kind of thing," Dougie quickly changed the subject when he saw the look on Riley's face. "I thought you were really good in class today." He said grinning broadly. "Is it like your hobby to think up questions nobody cares about?"

"Is it like your hobby to pretend you having anything remotely close to resemble a life?" Riley said, smiling falsely, and fluttering her eye lashes with a sarcastic innocence.

Dougie's grin widened, "You know, with a smile like that, and those lovely lashes, anyone might think that you were flirting with me."

Riley rolled her eyes. "Find a tree, _Douglas_, and stick that poor excuse for a penis in it."

"It's Dougie. And, how, would you know what my penis looks like?" He asked, shooting his eyebrows up, in mock surprise.

Riley looked as though she had just swallowed an egg. But then, her face changed. She smiled. "It was in my nightmare, but I ended up laughing because of how small it was."

"Burned" Jacqui quipped, walking up to her friend. Riley smirked at Dougie before walking out of the room with her friend.

"I don't know school may not be so bad" Dougie said to himself, a small smile on his face and left the room too.


	4. Chapter 3: 'How Perverted Can You Get'

**Chapter Four – 'How Perverted Can You Get?'**

"Oh Come on, you stupid food machine!" Harry cried, kicking and shaking a vending machine. He, Danny, and Tom were waiting for Dougie in the quad. They had a break at about 9:45 to 10:00 and Harry was trying to get a bag of crisps that had just gotten stuck in the vending machine.

"Dude, why don't you just use another dollar to get them out?" Tom asked as he watched Harry ram his shoulder into the machine.

"That is normally the _smarter_ way to get it out," Riley commented as she walked up to the four of them, with her friends in tow. Her gaze locked onto Dougie. "Then again, if you're Dougie's friend, then it doesn't surprise me that you're not using your head."

"Riley." Dougie said with a smirk and a nod. Riley nodded back.

"Well, apparently you know who Dougie is." Tom spoke up. "I'm-"

"We know who you are," the girl that Tom met on the first day interrupted. "Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Harry Judd, and Dougie Poynter from McFly. We've heard your music. I'm Gen. Apparently you already know Riley."

"That's Jacqui" Riley added with a nod. Danny got off of the table he was sitting on and walked over to the girl that was standing behind the other three girls.

"And who might you be lovely one?" Danny asked her.

"Excuse me?" Rhuben, Riley's twin, raised an eyebrow at Danny. She didn't say anything because she wasn't really that nice when she first met someone, she was the kind of person to speak her mind and show her emotion.

"And who might you be lovely – "

"I know what you said, dag."

"Well, what is your name?"

"If you must know, my name is Rhuben."

"Rhuben, a lovely name," Danny grabbed her hand.

Rhuben looked down at his hand gripping hers. "Get your filthy hands off of me!" she jerked her hand back.

"Yeah, we should go now. Come on guys." Jacqui grabbed all three girls and headed in the opposite direction: Away from the boys.

"He thinks he can just waltz up here and grab my hand? If he does then he has another thing coming for him!" Rhuben grumbled as she placed her hands behind her head.

"Wow Rhuben, you're really great at attracting guys who want to 'finger you like they do their guitar'." Jacqui cracked as they continued to their dorm room to get their books. The other girls cracked up and slapped her arms and back.

"Jacqui how is it that you can be so shy one minuet, but so disgusting the next?" Rhuben asked, still laughing.

"I don't know, it's my talent, I guess" Jacqui replied, holding her sides from laughing too hard.

"I mean really, 'finger me like you finger your guitar'?" Gen shook her head.

"How perverted can you get?" Riley added.

"Pretty perverted, and trust me, you don't want to know how much that is." Jacqui warned.

"I'll take your word for it." Rhuben agreed.

* * *

"Dude, you majorly got burned" Tom laughed as he, Dougie, and Harry teased Danny's being shot down.

"She doesn't know what she's missing" Danny said and winked at another girl who walked by.

"No, I think she does." Harry said. "If they know who we are, then they definitely know that you're the type of guy who would go out with probably every girl that crosses his eye sight."

"Hold that thought," Danny said and ran after a girl that had just walked by them. Dougie, Harry, and Tom watched as he talked to her for a few minuets, got a piece of paper from her and walked back to his friends. "You were saying."

"You just proved my point" Harry replied. "It doesn't surprise me that it seems like Rhuben hates you."

"No, we know she hates him" Tom pointed out. "I bet you can't even get her to date you."

"Was the word bet in that sentence?" Danny asked, raising his eyebrows. Tom nodded. "I'm listening."

"I bet you that you can't get Rhuben to go out with you by the end of this quarter. And it has to be an actually date, meaning dinner, movie, and a snog at the end."

"What happens if he doesn't win?" Dougie asked, grinning happily.

"If you _do_ win the bet, then you…get the rest of us as your slaves for two weeks." Tom said, which Dougie and Harry denied loudly. "What?"

"You don't know what goes on in his head, you don't know what he's going to make us do" Harry replied.

"So, we don't know what goes on in Dougie's head, but he came out just fine" Tom pointed out and the three boys turned to looked at the younger one, who was picking dead skin off of his palm. "Forget what I just said."

"Ok, if you lose Danny then you…then you…"

"You have to sniff all of my gym sock!" Dougie almost shouted. Harry and Tom gave confused looks as Danny looked horrified.

"How is that a punishment?" Harry asked giving his friend a peculiar look..

"Have you smelled my socks?" Dougie shot back at him. "Trust me, even _I_ don't want to go near them."

"Sure, you have to sniff his socks." Tom said and smirked as he held out his hand. Danny thought about it for a few minuets and shook Tom's hand, smirking back.

"Great, any of you have ice?" Danny asked, looking around.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because I'm going to wait by the girl's bathroom to see if I can meet up with her there." Danny replied. "But know how girls mostly take a guy standing outside a bathroom/locker-room the wrong way, they're going to end up slapping me, and I'd rather have my cheeks be numb than to feel the stinging pain."

"Wow, how perverted can you get?" Dougie asked scornfully.

"I wouldn't say I was a pervert, I would just say I'm obsessed with girls" Danny replied, choosing his words carefully.

"Same thing"


	5. Chapter 4: Food Fights

**A/N: This story only has hints of the Jacksons being abused. It doesn't go into much detail about that in this story. Oh, and you guys can give me suggestions of things you'd like to see in this story.****

* * *

**

**Chapter Four – Food Fights, the Highlight of the Day **

"So, is it just me or was Danny following you around today?" Gen asked as she, Jacqui, Riley, and Rhuben set their trays down on a lunch table and sat down too. "Because he seemed to be everywhere you were, and I doubt that it was a coincedence, like he claimed it was."

"It's not just you," Rhuben groaned. "He's really annoying, what's worse is that he's in my study hall and Chemistry class, and never stopped trying to talk to me."

"Yeah, it must be so horrible to have a hot guy chase you around," Jacqui teased. "I wouldn't mind that actually."

"Anyone else wonder how we became friends with her?" Riley teased.

"Admit it, you'd like it too," Jacqui continued, talking to Gen and Riley. "You'd like it if Tom and Dougie were following you around everywhere. I sure wouldn't mind if Harry was."

"Jacqui, shut up!" Rhuben snapped and Jacqui rolled her eyes, although she was still smiling. Rhuben smirked as an idea popped into her head. "But if he's going to chase after me, then he has another thing coming to him."

"And I'm taking a guess its going to prove that girls are the better sex." Riley asked eagerly.

"Boys are so stupid." Rhuben agreed and the four girls high-fived.

"That's not very nice, Rhu." Danny said as he plunked his tray down next to her and sat down, giving her a charming smile.

"Speak of the devil." She murmured, shooting him a deadly glare.

"Remind me again why we're sitting with these rejects?" Dougie complained, appearing next to Riley, who turned on him in fury.

"No one ASKED you to sit here, Douglas!" She said through gritted teeth. "In fact, I think we'd all be much happier if you could just make yourself disappear." She added smiling sweetly.

" Douglas?" Tom asked in amusement as the four of them sat down. "I'm surprised you're letting her call you that when you won't let your own mother call you that. D'you fancy her or something?"

"Am I not sitting here?" Riley grumbled.

"You may as well not be" Gen replied and grinned when Riley sent her a small glare.

"First of all, I would never EVER flirt with an ugly cow like 'that'." Dougie replied, showing that he still didn't master the art of thinking before he opened his mouth, as he pointed disgustedly at the girl diagonal from him. "And second of all, shut up!"

"Nice comeback, mate" Harry said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes and Tom smiled innocently. "I seriously wouldn't be surprised if you were dead tomorrow."

"Why are you guys _always_ saying that?" Dougie asked, blinking in confusion.

Danny regarded his companions with a little bit of curiosity and turned his attention towards Rhuben. "So, why did you move to--" He broke off as she turned and glared at him. "So, about this Chemistry lab. . ." He switched to a safer topic.

"What about it?" Rhuben sounded defeated.

"It's sort of funny we got paired together, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Funny."

He leaned towards her. "In fact, you could almost say it was fate." She met his gaze with disdain and leaned back, pushing Jacqui into Harry. Jacqui looked down at her plate and Riley couldn't help but be sympathetic towards her friend, who was shy to whoever she just meets. Too bad she wasn't like that when she wasn't with her friends too.

"Sure, than I won't be held accounted for strangling you" she said fake smiling.

His eyes widened and he looked away hastily. Then a thought occurred to him and he turned to looked at her again. He regarded her thoughtfully and she struggled not to squirm under his piercing gaze. "Why do you hate me? I mea, you just met me today"

"Do you want it in alphabetical order?" Her voice was dry. She looked over at Gen and Riley, who looked bored and Gen caught her eye. Smiling to herself, Gen nodded to Rhuben's milk carton and cocked her head.

"Something wrong with your neck?" Tom asked her in a concerned tone.

"No, just had a little crick. Its fine now" Gen replied quickly and smiled gratefully. Rhuben smirked and waited until Danny turned to take a bite of his cafeteria food before grabbing her milk carton and dumping it over Danny's head.

Harry, Tom, Jacqui, Gen, Dougie, Riley, and Rhuben burst out laughing.

"Moo." Dougie said under his breath to Riley, reminding her of his previous insult. Not a good idea.

Calmly she threw pudding into his face.

And that's when the world turned upside down.

Dougie, sensing an opening, flung a spoonful of pudding towards Riley's face, but missed because at that exact instant she bent down to pick up more ammo.

The chocolate goo hit Rhuben instead.

"Who threw that?"

Dougie pointed innocently at Danny.

"It wasn't me! How could I have, I'm sitting right next to you!"

Rhuben smirked. "But if I believed you, I wouldn't have a reason to do 'this'."

Before Danny could even flinch she hurled a handful of the school's 'tuna surprise' right into his gaping mouth.

Everyone froze.

"That was bad. . ." Dougie breathed.

Rhuben smirked.

"Danny?" Tom asked slowly.

Slowly, Danny made himself swallow and wiped his mouth on the end of a napkin. "Rhuben?"

"Yeah?"

"You owe me."

"Yeah?"

The others cautiously sat down, as Danny dropped the napkin back on the table. He sighed and folded his hands in his lap, turning to look at Rhuben. "Big time." Suddenly he grinned, spoiling the dramatic mood. "I'll pick you up at 8 friday!"

"WHAT!"

For a second everyone just stared, and than Jacqui snorted, breaking the silence. "I'm sorry!" She gasped, as Rhuben turned and glared at her. "But can't you just imagine what your date's going to be like!"

"It's NOT a date!" Rhuben growled.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, before he could respond.

As they picked up their trays and books, Riley bumped into Dougie and got a good look at his face. She snickered.

"What!" He demanded. "What's so funny?"

She just laughed helplessly before pointing a finger at his face. "I love you new look!"

Instinctively he moved a hand up to his face, feeling the smeared pudding with his fingers. "Well, since you love it so much. . ." He let his voice trail off, and before Riley knew what was happening, she felt something cold and slimy hit her in the face.

He cocked his head to one side, as if deep in thought. "Yes." He said finally. "It's definitely an improvement."

Instead of getting angry, like he expected, she just laughed.

"Remind me to never go to you for make-up tips. Not that your face isn't enough of a warning. . ." She added thoughtfully.

"Don't worry." He responded cheerfully. "Not even make-up could do anything to fix that horror you call a face."

"Jerk."

"Idiot."

They exchanged insults all the way to the next period.

Neither could remember exactly when they had switched from furious ranting to slightly pretend furious banter.

But they still hated each other.

Right?

Right.

* * *

By the end of the day, Riley was feeling really good about her life. 

She had great friends, and it was even fun fighting with Dougie.

Not that she'd EVER admit it!

She'd hardly ever had friends. People she could talk with, or joke with. They always seemed to be on the move and than there had been the bruises to explain… Forcing herself to be honest, she wondered just how long it could last. How long would they stay at this school? How long could they go without them making her dad angry? How long could she keep the secret? They didn't want to think about what people would do if they found out. She knew from experience, the majority would think she was a liar.

Selfish lying sons and daughters that had it in for their dad. But that wasn't what frightened the Jackson the most. Against her will, Riley felt old memories resurfacing.

* * *

Coming out of her daze, Riley realized her cheeks were wet. 

What frightened her the most about their secret, what absolutely terrified her, was the thought that someone would find out…her dad hurt them, he hit them, and yelled at them.

And they deserved it.

They didn't want anyone to find out how much they deserved it. Once upon a time her dad was sweet and kind and funny.

'_You weren't worth saving_.'


	6. Chapter 5: No Silver Platter

**Chapter Five – No Silver Platter**

"Excuse me, but may I have your autograph?" a girl asked Tom shyly as he and Danny walked to their Math class a few weeks later. They had to miss a week because they had to do some press stuff and record a song.

"Sure" Danny grinned and took her notebook, quickly scribbling down his name. He handed it to Tom and he signed his name, giving the girl a smile before handing the notebook back to her.

"Thank you" she sighed and walked away.

"No problem" Danny called after her and the two continued to walk across campus to the math/science building.

"You do realize that that 'date' you had with Rhuben doesn't count towards our bet" Tom said after a minute of silence. Danny stopped walking and looked at his friend in confusion.

"What are you talking about, she dumped tuna surprise in my mouth and I took her out on a date" Danny replied.

"If I remember correctly, and I do, you _forced_ her into going out with you _because_ she dumped tuna surprise in your mouth. And you only worked on that Chemistry lab, that doesn't count as a date" Tom replied and continued walking as Danny hurried to catch up with him.

"It was a study date" Danny replied.

"And those don't count" Tom replied and shook his head, chuckling to himself. Danny made a face.

"Well excuse me; have you gotten a date around here?" Danny asked.

"No, because unlike you, I like to get to know a girl before I shove my tongue down her throat." Tom replied condescendingly. Danny rolled his eyes and muttered something about bossy blonde lead singers as they went into the building and into their classroom.

"Mr. Jones, Mr. Fletcher I assume that you've done your homework?" Their teacher, Ms Phillips asked as soon as they stepped into the room. Danny chuckled to himself.

"Ms. Phillips, I couldn't do my homework because I was busy" Danny said and grinned handsomely.

"I have my homework" Tom said and reached into his backpack and pulled out a notebook, ignoring the glare that Danny shot his way. Ms. Phillips smiled at Tom as he went over to his seat and sat down.

"Mr. Jones, what's your reason for not having your homework?" Ms. Phillips asked him. Danny scratched his forehead nervously.

"I didn't get a chance to do it, in between doing press junkets and recording and-"

"Then how was it that Mr. Fletcher was able to do his homework?" Ms. Phillips asked turning to him. Tom smiled sweetly in reply and finger-waved at Danny. Danny moved forward as if he was about to punch him.

"I don't know he's a little suck up!" Danny replied.

"You know that I don't tolerate late homework." Ms. Phillips sighed as she walked over to her desk. "And you know that I don't give anybody special treatment, even someone who is in a famous band. You have to know that even thought you're in a famous band, not everything is going to be given to you on a silver platter. Now, take this slip and go to the room that is marked on it. You have detention."

"For not having my homework?" Danny yelped, taking the piece of paper from her.

"That, and from raising your voice to me, now go" Ms. Phillips sighed. Danny sighed in frustration and stormed out of the room.

* * *

"Mr. Judd, what are you doing?"

Harry turned away from the drum set that he was sitting at and saw the band teacher, Mr. Webb standing in the doorway, his hands on his hips and he face steadily turning red.

"Oh, am I not supposed to be here?" Harry asked sheepishly as he shrugged.

"No, the room is off limits to anyone who isn't in the school band, doesn't have this class as an elective, or who doesn't have permission to come into this room during their free period." Mr. Webb replied as he shook his head.

"Hey Mr. Webb, I'm not going to be in class tomorrow" Rhuben said as she walked into the room, drumsticks in her hands. "My siblings and I are going to be working with our manager, but I'll have the scales test and my part of the new song done by the time I get back. Which should be a couple of days after."

"That's fine, just make sure that you get a lot of practice for the new song, it's a doozy." Mr. Webb replied.

"Got it" Rhuben replied and left the room.

"Then how come you were so mad at me when I missed your classes?" Harry demanded. "I was gone for a band thing too."

"Yeah, but you didn't let me know that you were going to be leaving. And you didn't get me the work that you missed either." Mr. Webb replied. "Here at our school, academics are the top priority, which is why we have to take people off of sports teams if their grades start to fall."

"I got it" Harry groaned, rolling his eyes. "Just, can I practice that piece? I know band is next period, but since I don't play a sport and this is my elective-"

"Yes you can, Mr. Judd." Mr. Webb sighed. "But next time, ask before you come in here alright?"

"Fine"

"You're at school now Mr. Judd, you better get used to it."

* * *

"Would you stop sitting there and actually _help_ me on this project?" Riley demanded as Dougie continued to sketch on the margins of his paper. He looked up.

"Why should I, you're doing great on your own" he replied innocently.

"Its times like these I wish I could punch you" Riley growled in reply and her eyes narrowed when Dougie smirked at her.

"What's stopping you?" he asked. Riley looked at her watch.

"The fact that I'm not supposed to have detention until an hour from now" she replied. Dougie raised his eyebrows curiously.

"Do you always get in trouble?"

"Wouldn't you like to know" Riley said mysteriously and went back to working on the project. "So I heard that you got a zero for all of the work that you missed."

"Yeah, so?" Dougie asked irritably. "It's only because Ms. Simmons is a bitch and won't cut some slack."

"She's a fair teacher, Dougie. It's not her fault you're a jerk" Riley replied and cut him off as he opened his mouth to retort. "You're not going to get special treatment because you're in a famous band. That didn't happen to me, and it's not going to happen to you. While you're at school, your popularity isn't going to help you."

Dougie was silent for a few seconds.

"You were popular? Could have fooled me."


	7. Chapter 6: DarkElements Website

**A/N: I put the Jacksons' band profiles in this chapter, so you can get to know a little bit more about them, so that's why this chapter is so long and nothing really happens. You might get bored with it, so I promise to make a longer chapter for the next one. Oh, and I also got the format of the profiles from McFly's cite, which I definitely don't own.**

* * *

**Chapter Six – DarkElements Website**

"What's wrong with you?" Jacqui asked Riley as she stormed into the girl's locker room and threw her locker door open. She grinned and answered her question before Riley had a chance to answer. "Wait, this has to do with Dougie, doesn't it?"

"What gave you that idea?" Riley asked sarcastically as he pulled her shirt over her head to grab her gym t-shirt. Jacqui cocked her head to the side when she saw a bruise on Riley's shoulder blade. She looked down at her hands.

"So, how'd you get that bruise?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, I rammed it into a door when I was chasing Sydney around the house" Riley replied and pulled her gym shirt over her head. She looked at Jacqui suspiciously.

"Are you sure?" Jacqui asked. "Because I know your dad-"

"This time, I'm telling the truth and you can tell, because my eye didn't twitch." Riley grinned in reply and Jacqui nodded. "Seriously, if dad did anything else when we were with him on the weekend, I would have sent Pat, Noah, and Syd to stay at yours or Gen's house."

"True" Jacqui replied and gave a small smile.

"It's 11:00. It's way too early to have PE" Gen grumbled as she and Rhuben walked into the locker room.

"So, Rhuben," Jacqui said, turning on the bench to face Riley's twin. "How was your date with Danny?" Gen laughed as Riley sat down next to Jacqui and imitated her look of eagerness. "Did he jump your bones?"

"1. That's disgusting. 2. it wasn't a date," Rhuben rolled her eyes. "_I_ was doing homework, and _he_ just sat in our dorm room, eating everything and watching his own Music Videos on TV."

"It's a good thing I left to get more food when I did." Riley chuckled shaking her head. "The refrigerator was running low when I left, and when I got back, it was completely empty. It wouldn't surprise me if Danny at the baking soda too."

The four girls laughed and finished getting ready and went out into the gym.

"That's funny," Riley muttered as they started to run laps around the indoor basketball court.

"What?" Gen asked, wiping sweat off of her forehead.

"By now, Dougie should be here annoying the hell out of me," Riley replied and a smirk slid onto her face. "But since he's not here, I can finally be at peace."

"Are you sure you just don't miss him?" Jacqui asked. Rhuben stuck out her foot and tripped her. "You guys _aren't cool_!" Jacqui shouted after them.

* * *

"Hey guys" Dougie greeted Danny, Harry, and Tom as he walked into Tom's and Harry's dorm room, tossing his backpack and laptop case to the ground.

"What are you doing here?" Danny asked, watching as his younger friend lay down on the end of Tom's bed.

"What do you mean?" he asked, resting his head on his arm and closing his eyes. Tom and Harry exchanged looks before Tom moved his laptop to his desk and pushed Dougie off of his bed.

"We mean, don't you have a class right now?" He asked, looking down at Dougie, who looked back up at him innocently.

"Don't you?" he shot back.

"Yeah, but _we_, meaning, Danny, Tom, and I," Harry replied pointing to them and himself in turn. "Have a study hall, and we e-mailed our teacher saying that we were going to be in our dorm room. What class do you have?"

"Gym," Dougie replied. "But I hate unorganized sports, so I ditched it."

"You're going to get kicked out of school" Danny warned him.

"What makes you think that's not my plan?" Dougie asked and then changed the subject. "Hey, you know how Riley and Rhuben are a part of the band the DarkElements and they know a lot about us but we don't know that much about them?"

"Yeah, so?" Danny asked as he continued to read the magazine that he was holding in his hand.

"_So_, do they have a website or anything, like we do?" Dougie asked, rolling his eyes.

"I don't know, do they?" Harry asked as he wrinkled his nose in thought.

"Got it!" Tom replied at his laptop. Dougie, Danny, and Harry got up and stood behind him, looking at the small computer screen. "Let's click on…Band Profiles" he said and clicked on the link.

**NAME**: Riley Jackson

**DATE & PLACE OF BIRTH**: 9/16/92, Melbourne, Australia

**SIGN:** Virgo

**WHAT DO YOU DO IN DarkElements:** I play the bass, acoustic, and electric guitar. Lead female vocals. Co-leader.

**DISTINGUISHING FEATURES:** Black hair w/ red streak, blue eyes (seems to get darker when mad), skater and surfer clothes, bandage on right arm

**FAMILY DETAILS:** Dad, 4 brothers, 1 sister

**ANY PETS**: 1 Dog

**ONE THING I ALWAYS CARRY WITH ME IS**: Skateboard

**MY FAVOURITE ACTOR IS**: Max Thieriot

**MY FAVOURITE ACTRESS IS:** Selena Gomez

**FAVE FILM**: Any 3 Ninjas Movie, Just My Luck, Are you Scared  
**  
****FAVE TV PROGRAM**: Scarred

**ALL-TIME FAVE SONG**: Wonderwall- Cartel

**FAVE BAND**: Blink 182, New Found Glory, Yellowcard

**FAVE MALE SINGER:** Ryan Key

**FAVE FEMALE SINGER**: Emily Osment, Selena Gomez

**FIRST GIG:** Chaos Storm at Sydney Arena

**BEST GIG:** Chaos Storm Tour, Opening for Yellowcard, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

**MY CATCH PHRASE IS:** Noted, Burned!

**FAVE DRINK:** Root Beer

**FAVE FOOD:** Cheeseburgers

**BAD HABITS:** Getting angry for no reason

**I WOULD DESCRIBE MYSELF AS**: Angry

**BIGGEST TURN ON**: Skater/Surfer Boys

**BIGGEST TURN OFF:** Boys who do really stupid things, boys who speak their mind too often

**DREAM CAR:** Motorcycle, more of the Moto-X Variety

**FAVE SUBJECT AT SCHOOL, AND WHY**: PE, because I'm really athletic and love the games we play

**WHO INSPIRES YOU:** My older brother, Julius

**MOST EMBARRASING MOMENT**: When I skated into a pole and it was put onto the internet

**ANY CELEBRITY ENCOUNTERS:** Met Cartel at the mall

**FAVE CHAT UP LINE:** I really don't need to use them, unfortunately I'm really attractive

**HOBBIES/SPORTS**: Playing guitar, making jewelry, photography, cooking, skateboarding barefoot, Surfing, racing motorcycles, playing soccer, snowboarding, a lot more.

* * *

**NAME**: Rhuben Jackson

**DATE & PLACE OF BIRTH**: 9/16/92, Melbourne, Australia

**SIGN:** Virgo

**WHAT DO YOU DO IN DarkElements:** I play the drums, sometimes guitar. Backing female vocals. Co-leader.

**DISTINGUISHING FEATURES:** Black hair w/ purple streak, blue eyes (turn darker when mad), rebel clothes (mostly black), bandages on wrists arm

**FAMILY DETAILS:** Dad, 4 brothers, 1 sister

**ANY PETS**: 1 Dog (share with Riley)

**ONE THING I ALWAYS CARRY WITH ME IS**: MP3/I-pod

**MY FAVOURITE ACTOR IS**: Max Thieriot

**MY FAVOURITE ACTRESS IS:** Selena Gomez

**FAVE FILM**: Any 3 Ninjas Movie, Just My Luck, Are you Scared?, any other Horror Movie  
**  
****FAVE TV PROGRAM**: Scarred

**ALL-TIME FAVE SONG**: Atrophy- Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

**FAVE BAND**: Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Trapt, Tribal Ink

**FAVE MALE SINGER:** Mitchel Musso

**FAVE FEMALE SINGER**: Emily Osment, Selena Gomez

**FIRST GIG:** Chaos Storm at Sydney Arena

**BEST GIG:** Chaos Storm Tour, Opening for Yellowcard, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

**MY CATCH PHRASE IS: **Noted, Zing

**FAVE DRINK:** Grape Soda

**FAVE FOOD:** Apple Sauce

**BAD HABITS:** Tapping a drumbeat with feet when bored or nervous

**I WOULD DESCRIBE MYSELF AS**: Cold and Independant

**BIGGEST TURN ON**: Eyes and smile

**BIGGEST TURN OFF:** Loud laugh and over the top perverted jokes

**DREAM CAR:** Motorcycle, more of the Moto-X Variety, or a Mustang

**FAVE SUBJECT AT SCHOOL, AND WHY**: PE, 'nough said

**WHO INSPIRES YOU:** Travis Barker

**MOST EMBARRASING MOMENT**: During a drum solo drum stick flew out of her hand and onto stage floor, where Patrick slid on it and crashed into Riley, knocking her over onto Sydney's piano bench, pushing him off, causing him to crash into Noah's drum stool, knocking Noah to the floor

**ANY CELEBRITY ENCOUNTERS:** Met Cartel at the mall

**FAVE CHAT UP LINE:** I don't ever do this, but I think you're cute and I got tired of waiting for you to talk to me

**HOBBIES/SPORTS**: playing the drums, running, wakeboarding, inline skating, and dirt boarding

**

* * *

**

**NAME**: Patrick Jackson

**DATE & PLACE OF BIRTH**: 4/20/95, Canberra, Australia

**SIGN:** Cancer

**WHAT DO YOU DO IN DarkElements:** I play the bass, electric, and acoustic guitar. Lead male vocals.

**DISTINGUISHING FEATURES:** Black hair with platinum blonde tips, bright blue eyes, and a silver earring in right ear

**FAMILY DETAILS:** Dad, 3 brothers, 2 sisters

**ANY PETS**: Not mine, but I help take care of them

**ONE THING I ALWAYS CARRY WITH ME IS**: Glasses/Contacts Case, Ring

**MY FAVOURITE ACTOR IS**: Ashton Kutcher

**MY FAVOURITE ACTRESS IS:** Emily Osment

**FAVE FILM**: Guess Who  
**  
****FAVE TV PROGRAM**: MTV Cribs

**ALL-TIME FAVE SONG**: Thubthumping- Chumbawumba

**FAVE BAND**: DE (Lol), Linkin Park

**FAVE MALE SINGER:** Chad Kroger

**FAVE FEMALE SINGER**: Ashley Tisdale

**FIRST GIG:** Chaos Storm at Sydney Arena

**BEST GIG:** Chaos Storm Tour, Opening for Yellowcard, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

**MY CATCH PHRASE IS: **Noted, Booyah!

**FAVE DRINK:** Sprite

**FAVE FOOD:** Steak

**BAD HABITS:** Rubbing neck and face turns red when embarrassed or nervous

**I WOULD DESCRIBE MYSELF AS**: Fun and Outgoing

**BIGGEST TURN ON**: Blue Eyes

**BIGGEST TURN OFF:** Phlegmy laugh

**DREAM CAR:** Convertable

**FAVE SUBJECT AT SCHOOL, AND WHY**: Art, because it gives me a chance to draw mythical creatures

**WHO INSPIRES YOU:** Ryan Key

**MOST EMBARRASING MOMENT**: When Noah and Sydney locked me out of our hotel room right after I took a shower. I only had on a towel, and there were lots of fans around.

**ANY CELEBRITY ENCOUNTERS:** Met Cartel at the mall

**FAVE CHAT UP LINE:** Hey, you're cute, want to hang out?

**HOBBIES/SPORTS**: play the guitar, playing video games, surf, and listen to music, draw, and sculpt/kiln/paint dragons.

* * *

**NAME**: Noah Jackson

**DATE & PLACE OF BIRTH**: 4/20/95, Canberra, Australia

**SIGN:** Cancer

**WHAT DO YOU DO IN DarkElements:** I play the drums, sometimes guitar, Backing male vocals.

**DISTINGUISHING FEATURES:** Black hair with silver tips, bright blue eyes, and a gold earring in right ear

**FAMILY DETAILS:** Dad, 3 brothers, 2 sisters

**ANY PETS**: Not mine, but I help take care of them

**ONE THING I ALWAYS CARRY WITH ME IS**: Cell phone, video camera

**MY FAVOURITE ACTOR IS**: Ashton Kutcher

**MY FAVOURITE ACTRESS IS:** Emily Osment

**FAVE FILM**: Bridge to Terabithia  
**  
****FAVE TV PROGRAM**: MTV Cribs

**ALL-TIME FAVE SONG**: Crazy for this Girl- Evan and Jaron

**FAVE BAND**: DE (Lol), Nickelback

**FAVE MALE SINGER:** Chad Kroger

**FAVE FEMALE SINGER**: Ashley Tisdale

**FIRST GIG:** Chaos Storm at Sydney Arena

**BEST GIG:** Chaos Storm Tour, Opening for Yellowcard, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

**MY CATCH PHRASE IS: **Noted, Sweet!

**FAVE DRINK:** Chocolate Milkshake

**FAVE FOOD:** Steak

**BAD HABITS:** Biting lower lip and looking at the ceiling when I lie or is nervous

**I WOULD DESCRIBE MYSELF AS**: Quiet and Shy

**BIGGEST TURN ON**: A Cute Face

**BIGGEST TURN OFF:** Not being yourself

**DREAM CAR:** Convertable

**FAVE SUBJECT AT SCHOOL, AND WHY**: Art, because it gives me a chance to draw mythical creatures

**WHO INSPIRES YOU:** L.P. (from Yellowcard)

**MOST EMBARRASING MOMENT**: When I was trying to talk to this girl that I like and Sydney was taping me with his webcam

**ANY CELEBRITY ENCOUNTERS:** Met Cartel at the mall

**FAVE CHAT UP LINE:** You probably won't like a guy like me, but I definitely like you.

**HOBBIES/SPORTS**: play the drums, playing video games, listen to music, wakeboard, draw, sculpt/kiln/paint dragons.

* * *

**NAME**: Sydney Jackson

**DATE & PLACE OF BIRTH**: 6/26/00, Sydney, Australia

**SIGN:** Gemini

**WHAT DO YOU DO IN DarkElements:** I play lots of side instruments, but I mostly DJ. And I also do the backing vocals.

**DISTINGUISHING FEATURES:** Black hair with blue tips, big blue eyes, dimples in my cheeks when I smile

**FAMILY DETAILS:** Dad, 3 brothers, 2 sisters

**ANY PETS**: With, my favorite rabbit

**ONE THING I ALWAYS CARRY WITH ME IS**: Laptop (with webcam)

**MY FAVOURITE ACTOR IS**: Jake Austin

**MY FAVOURITE ACTRESS IS:** Too many for me to choose

**FAVE FILM**: Tarzan, I love monkeys  
**  
****FAVE TV PROGRAM**: Amazing Race

**ALL-TIME FAVE SONG**: Wondering- Good Charlotte

**FAVE BAND**: DE (Lol), Good Charlotte

**FAVE MALE SINGER:** Joel Madden

**FAVE FEMALE SINGER**: Ashley Tisdale

**FIRST GIG:** Chaos Storm at Sydney Arena

**BEST GIG:** Chaos Storm Tour, Opening for Yellowcard, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

**MY CATCH PHRASE IS: **Noted, Its not my fault I'm smart.

**FAVE DRINK:** Strawberry Banana Milkshake

**FAVE FOOD:** Banana

**BAD HABITS:** Sticking my tongue out when I don't get my way, biting my nails, making monkey screeches to annoy my siblings

**I WOULD DESCRIBE MYSELF AS**: Smart and cute

**BIGGEST TURN ON**: I'm too young to date

**BIGGEST TURN OFF:** Umm

**DREAM CAR:** Hover Car, I can dream can't I?

**FAVE SUBJECT AT SCHOOL, AND WHY**: All of them, because I'm really good at it

**WHO INSPIRES YOU:** My siblings

**MOST EMBARRASING MOMENT**: During a concert when I was doing backflips and cartwheels, I crashed into Patrick and fell into audience

**ANY CELEBRITY ENCOUNTERS:** Met Cartel at the mall

**FAVE CHAT UP LINE:** Like I said before, I'm too young

**HOBBIES/SPORTS**: play instruments, read, building sand castles, playing video games, listen to music, singing, swimming, drawing, technological stuff

"Wow, they do a lot of stuff" Harry said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, that's not obvious" Danny said, rolling his eyes.

"I wonder what it would be like to play with them," Tom said curiously. "I mean, they're probably as famous in Australia, as we are in the UK. I think it would be good for us if we played together."

"Keep dreaming," Dougie said, rolling his eyes. "Unless you want to be bossed around, I suggest you get that idea out of your head."

"I don't know, Dougie, I think the only reason she hates you is because you do stupid things and speak your mind too often." Harry said and grinned.

"I mean, I don't think-WHAT?!" Dougie shouted, turning to his friend.

"It's obvious that you like Riley, and this profile proves that she doesn't like people like you" Tom laughed.

"Don't have a girlfriend yet?" Dougie asked him and Tom's smile faded.

"Shut up" he muttered.

"Thing is, the only reason you bother Riley so much is because you like her." Danny said.

"Coming from the person who is going to have to sniff Dougie's gym socks" Harry snickered.

"Anyway," Tom said loudly, changing the subject. "I think that Jake will like the idea, I'm going to go run it by him right now."


	8. Chapter 7: Weekend Plans

**Chapter Seven – Weekend Plans**

"Hey Tom, what plans do you have for the weekend?" Gen asked as she sat down next to him as they waited for the school announcements to be made. Tom looked over at her and saw that she looked seriously interested in what he was going to do. He couldn't help but smile back.

"I don't know. My friends and I were happy to have a weekend off to do nothing. But we might go to the beach or something." He replied. "What about you? What are you and your girls doing?" he asked giving her a teasing smile.

"We're just going to hang out. Like we usually do, you guys can come along if you want" Gen replied sincerely. Tom gave her an amused look.

"Do you think that Riley and Rhuben would mind?" he asked. Gen laughed in reply.

"They probably would, but they'd get over it eventually." She agreed. "Well, if you do agree to hang out, give me a call" she said and grabbed a pen, writing her cell phone number on his palm.

"Sure, I'll do that" Tom promised and Gen went to sit with her friends, who were watching her as she came back.

"So when's your date?" was the first thing that Jacqui asked. Rhuben slapped her on the arm and changed the subject.

"What were you talking to him about?" she asked.

"Why would it matter to you?" Gen shot back in reply, a smile on her face. Rhuben leaned closer to her and studied her face. "Dou you mind, I don't like it when someone's face is that close to mine."

"Unless it's Tom's" Jacqui said quietly, although it was still loud enough for her to hear. Gen ignored her and turned to Riley.

"What about your brothers, what's up with them?" she asked. Riley's blue eyes brightened slightly.

"Speaking of which," she muttered standing up and looking around. She waved her arms when she spotted the person she was looking for. "Julius, what's dad doing this weekend?" she asked her older brother. He cocked his head to the side, in thought.

"Oh, he has a meeting to go to all day on Saturday, so you can bet he'll be asleep all Sunday," he replied and then his eyes narrowed slightly. "Why, what are you planning?"

"Could you take care of Pat, Noah, and Syd for part of the day?" Rhuben asked him. "We girls are going to hang out. But later at bout 12 or something, you can take them by the beach and we'll watch them for the rest of the day."

"Deal" Julius replied and shook his sister's hands. "Later."

"See ya, Julius" Riley called back.

"Is that your boyfriend or something?" Dougie asked as he stood next to them in the aisle. Riley crossed her arms over her chest.

"Sure, if I want to date my brother" she replied as she rolled her eyes. Dougie casually shrugged.

"I don't know, you may swing that way," he replied. "You know…desperate."

"Coming from someone who has _never_ had a girlfriend." Riley shot back and sat down in her seat and Dougie went to sit with Danny, Tom, and Harry. "Geez, doesn't he know that he's never going to win an argument against me."

"Probably not, 'cause only people with brains know that you will never back away from an argument that you'll find a loophole to." Rhuben replied and looked over at the four boys, and made a face when Danny winked back at her. "Ok, he's really starting to creep me out. And Jacqui if you even say anything, I'm not going to invite you to our next interview on TV" Rhuben said and held her palm open in front of Jacqui, who had her mouth open.

Jacqui pouted and slid down into her seat. She opened her mouth again and Gen beat her to it.

"I'd think very carefully about what you're about to say weather or not you want to go or not" she said calmly. Jacqui sighed and slid lower into her seat.

"Wow, I think this is the first time that Jacqui has ever been quiet" Riley remarked and then cried out in pain as Jacqui kicked her in the shin.

"Students and Faculty, it is great for you to come here today." Mr. Metcalfe said cheerfully.

"How great is it that you got through your first week of school?" he waited for the applause and cheers that only the Seniors, who wanted to graduate so badly, could give. Chuckling the principal continued. "Now, as most of you know, but the students who are new here don't know, as soon as the day is over, you can either go back to your parents' house, or you can stay here on campus. But if you stay on campus, it'll be like if you were at home, the classrooms will be closed, but the dorms the lounge, the pool, and the other fun things will be open. Next week the SLC committee will be telling you about the upcoming Homecoming Dance. So hope you're all ready for that. Are there any student announcements?"

There were no more announcements and everyone was free to go off to their next class.

* * *

"So, what are we doing this weekend?" Danny asked Tom as they went to their dorm rooms to get their books.

"I don't know. I figured we could go site seeing. Maybe go to the beach." Tom shrugged in reply.

"Sounds cool to me" Danny replied with a grin on his face.

"Sure, but I think that we should, watch it!" Harry cried as he was hit in the back of the head with a football that a jock had thrown. He grabbed it and threw it back with such speed that the jock that caught it stumbled back a little.

"You know Harry, you should try out for the football team" Tom said to his friend. "And by saying football I mean the thing you throw."

"And be killed in the first twenty seconds" Dougie snorted.

"Are you always so pessimistic?" Harry asked him. After a few seconds of thinking, Dougie shrugged.

"I don't know, what does pessimistic mean?"

"Never mind." Harry muttered.

"Yeah, well, I was thinking of trying out for football, the ones you kick, not throw" Danny added thoughtfully.

"What are Tom and I going to do after school then?" Dougie whined.

"Homework" Tom offered.

"I'd rather bite off my own foot" Dougie replied.

"You wouldn't want to do that. If you did, you wouldn't be able to please your fans with your stage presence" Riley said as he walked by. "But I wouldn't mind, go ahead and chew away."

"Don't say anything." Dougie warned when Tom, Harry, and Danny opened their mouths. They closed their mouths, although there were mischievous smiles on their faces.


	9. Chapter 8: Human Nature Pt1

**Chapter Eight- Human Nature pt.1**

"Julius, you're going to want to keep an eye on Sydney," Rhuben warned. "Or he'll be inventing something that is particularly dangerous."

"Got it" Julius replied distractedly as he tried to scrape eggs off of the pan that he was holding in his hand. Rhuben looked towards the front door as the doorbell rang repeatedly. "Oh, and could you tell Jacqui not to do that every time she comes over here, it wouldn't surprise me if she burns it out eventually."

"Sorry, but you know Jacqui, she doesn't really listen to anyone," Rhuben shrugged and grabbed her duffel bag. "I'll see you later" she said and kissed her younger brothers on the forehead and went to the front door, where Riley had already opened it and was scolding Jacqui for ringing the doorbell too much.

"Blame me" Gen replied with a sigh. "I wasn't watching her this morning and she got into a case of Pixie-sticks again."

"That's what she said" Jacqui replied and burst out laughing. Riley rolled her eyes, shouted 'bye' to her brothers and pulled the front door shut behind her.

"You know, you're _really_ starting to bug me" she growled and Jacqui grinned.

"That's what she said" she replied.

"Jacqui, knock it off!" Rhuben commanded.

"That's what she said"

"SHUT UP!"

* * *

"Wow, its really hot here" Danny muttered as he pulled his t-shirt away from his body. It was already soaked with sweat, and it was only 9:00 in the morning. 

"It's better than it always being cold in London" Harry pointed out as he tossed a football in the air and caught it repeatedly. "But the other thing that was different there from here was that there was something to do."

"We could go to the beach, I always wanted to try surfing" Dougie suggested.

"And this is coming from the person that was complaining about every other suggestion that we had made?" Tom asked as he looked over at the younger boy. Suddenly, he remembered that Gen had written her number on his palm. Taking out his cell phone, he glanced at his hand to make sure he got the number right before making the phone call.

"What are you doing, mate?" Danny asked him curiously.

"Shh," Tom shushed him in reply and stopped walking as his eyes darted back in forth as he waited for Gen to pick up.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, it's me Tom" he replied and smiled a little bit. Harry raised his eyebrow in confusion and crossed his arms over his chest as he waited.

"_Oh! Hey Tom, what's up?"_

"Not much, we're just kind of bored and I decided to take you up on your offer."

"_Really? That's cool. Well, we're over by the beach. It's by the ice cream shop that has the huge ice cream cone out front. The restaurant that's by it is where we're at right now."_

"Cool, I know where that is, we'll be there in a little bit." Tom said and hung up the phone and put it back into his pocket.

"Who was that?" Dougie asked curiously.

"Oh, that was Gen." Tom replied. "She said that if we were bored this weekend to go hangout with her and her friends."

"Sweet, that gives me another chance to try and ask Rhuben out" Danny said cheerfully as they started to walk towards the ice cream shop.

"And you better hurry because you only have until the end of October, that's when the quarter ends" Tom said and then peered closer at Danny, who had a goofy smile on his face. "He's already starting to daydream."

"I can already smell my gym socks" Dougie teased.

"It's not like you've even used them" Harry replied and slapped him on the shoulders. "Mr. I-don't-like-unorganized-sports. How many classes have you ditched so far?'

"Leave me alone"

"What's wrong with you?" Danny asked, breaking out of his reverie.

"He's probably mad that he got another detention from talking back to a teacher" Harry guessed. Tom shook his head.

"No, I bet it's his English project on human nature." He guessed.

"I don't even know what Human Nature has anything to do with English" Dougie complained as he threw his hands into he air. "What _is_ human nature exactly?"

"Well, let's have an example," Danny said as he stopped walking and looked at Dougie as he rubbed his chin. "You have bad hair."

"And you're ugly" Dougie shot back almost instantly.

"There you go, that's human nature." Danny replied and stopped short. "What do you mean I'm ugly?"


	10. Chapter 9: Human Nature Pt2

**A/N: Next chapter will be longer and will show how the guys and girls start to get along.**

* * *

**Chapter Nine – Human Nature Pt.2**

"Tom, over here!" Gen called and waved when she saw him and his friends walking towards the restaurant that she and Jacqui were in sitting at the counter. Riley and Rhuben were behind the counter, checking a few things.

"Oh you've _got_ to be _kidding_ me!" Rhuben cried as she untied the back of an apron that was around her waist and tossed it onto the counter.

"New look?" Dougie asked with a smirk.

"Try a job" Riley shot back and tossed her apron in his face and her gaze turned to, Tom, Harry, and Danny. "What's up?"

"Not much" Harry replied. "You guys work here?"

"That's what she said" Rhuben replied and made a face as Jacqui started giggling. "We work here for extra money."

"Don't you just use the money that you get from your concerts?" Danny asked in confusion.

"You'd think that."

"Anyway, we were thinking of going to the beach, you know build sandcastles, play volleyball, catch some waves" Gen suggested.

"Sounds Ace** (1)**!" Riley cried excitedly. "We didn't have much to do anyway, kind of a slow day, let me get our boards from the back." She grabbed a set of keys off of a hook and went to the back of the store.

"You surf?" Tom asked Rhuben as she climbed over the counter.

"Riley does, I wakeboard" She replied and crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Jacqui. "You've gotten a little quiet there, mate. Something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong" Jacqui muttered in reply. Gen looked amused.

"You sound like the time you were sick and got bush oysters **(2)**." She paused. "Probably the best moment of my life, she stopped talking for once." She laughed along with McFly as Riley walked out of the back and handed Rhuben her wakeboard and a set of boat keys.

"Are we waiting for anybody else?" Tom asked when he noticed that none of the girls moved.

"Yeah, a couple of ankle-biters **(3)**" Jacqui replied seconds before three boys ran into the restaurant and hugged Riley and Rhuben.

"Yeah, so, these are our brothers, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney" Rhuben said. The three boys waved silently. "So, let's go to the beach."

"Before we go, I wanted to say that I think you look very pretty today." Danny said to her.

"Thanks" Rhuben replied slowly as they walked to the beach. "What is that like Human Nature to you?"

"Ok, _what_ is Human Nature, and how does everybody know about it?" Dougie demanded.

"Somebody wasn't paying attention in class" Jacqui teased in a sing-song voice as she pinched Dougie's cheek. He pushed her arm away from him and scowled as Sydney spoke up.

"Human Nature is the fundamental nature and substance of humans, as well as the range of human behavior that is believed to be invariant over long periods of time and across very different cultural contexts." He replied and Danny, Tom, Harry, and Dougie stared at him in shock.

"Did we forget to mention that he's a genius?" Riley asked in monotone. "Smarter than anyone I know, and that _definitely_ includes Dougie since he doesn't know what Human Nature is."

"If you would just explain what it is-"

"If you would just do the work in class-"

"Enough!" Rhuben and Tom cried in unison. "Ri, just tell him what Human Nature is so we can leave this stupid thing behind us, and actually have fun."

"I agree" Danny said and wrapped an arm around her waist. Rhuben turned her arm and purposely hit him in the back with her wakeboard and Jacqui and Gen burst out laughing.

"That's what she said" Jacqui muttered to say in-between giggles. A smile tugged at Riley's lips as she turned to Dougie. Harry caught a mischievous look in her eye, and didn't say anything as he waited with a smile.

"You want to know what human nature is? Hold still" Riley said to Dougie and placed her hands on his shoulders, slowly moving closer.

"What are you doing?" Dougie asked in confusion. When Riley didn't answer, he moved forward and then he cried out in pain as Riley grabbed his nose in-between her index and middle fingers and twisted his nose back and forth. "WHAT THE HELL?" He cried, jumping backwards and rubbing his nose, ignoring the burst of laughter from his friends.

"Wow, Ri-Ri, I thought you were actually going to kiss him" Patrick laughed.

"Apparently so did Dougie." Noah laughed back.

"That's Human Nature," Riley smirked. "You thought that I was going to kiss you, so it was in your nature to want to kiss me back."

"Like I'd ever want to kiss a thing like _you_" Dougie shot back as they continued walking to the beach.

"I'd be surprised if you could even kiss!" Riley replied automatically. "I bet you kiss like a fish."

"Better than looking like one."

"Better than smelling like one/"

"You know, I think it was better when they weren't talking to each other what so ever" Gen sighed as she shook her head.

"I agree with you on that" Tom laughed.

* * *

**Australian Words/Phrases**

**1 Ace: Excellent**

**2. Bush Oysters: Nasal Mucus**

**3. Ankle-Biters: Little kids**


	11. Chapter 10: That Girl the Surfer Babe

**Chapter Ten – That Girl the Surfer Babe**

"How long have you guys been going to this school, anyway?" Tom asked as the group of them set up on the beach.

"We're in tenth grade now…so Riley and I have been going to this school since 5th grade." Rhuben replied. "Gen came in 6th, although we've known her before, and Jacqui came in 7th"

"Wow, I'd love to see _that_ yearbook" Dougie laughed, earning a handful of sand in his face.

"Wow, he really should have seen that one coming" Jacqui laughed as Riley wiped off her hand on her board shorts and reached into her duffel bag for some wax for her surfboard.

"Ri-Ri, the waves look awesome, let's go!" Patrick cried impatiently as he waited at the edge of the water.

"Coming!" Riley shouted back, tossing the wax onto her duffle bag and grabbed her surfboard under her arm. Rhuben waved to her brother and sister as they placed their boards in the water and started to paddle towards a few waves.

"Gen, will you help me make a sand castle?" Sydney asked as he grabbed a bucket and started to fill it with sand.

"Totally, that sounds fun" Gen said and grabbed a shovel and started to dig a hole into the sand.

"Yeah, well, I'm going to go for a swim" Dougie said and trotted off towards the water. Rhuben cocked an eyebrow towards Jacqui, who shrugged in reply and grabbed a beach ball.

"Volleyball anyone?" she asked.

"I'm in" Rhuben and Noah agreed, getting to their feet.

"Same here" Tom agreed and he, Harry, and Danny got up, brushing sand off of their legs. "I'll be on a team with Rhuben and Jacqui."

"Why, just so you can show off?" Harry asked him and Tom laughed and shook his head.

"No, it's because I know how bad you two suck, so I figures I'd stick with a winning team" he replied and high-fived Jacqui, who grinned in agreement.

"So you leave _me_ with_ them_, thanks" Noah said sarcastically as he rolled his pale blue eyes, although he was smirking.

"You guts are going down!" she declared.

"Wow, you must really be competitive" Harry observed as he raised an eyebrow.

"You don't know the half of it. Noah muttered in reply.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's just play, alright" Rhuben replied impatiently, and backed up, smashing her fist into the volleyball. Noah jumped up into the air and hit it back. Jacqui ran backwards a couple of steps and hit it back. Harry returned the ball with a well aimed kick, and Tom skidded forward on his knees to hit it back.

"Ouch!" Danny cried, as he got hit in the face. "Man why does that _always _happen to me?"

"Because your face is ugly, it just wasn't ugly enough" Rhuben shot back as she caught the beach ball that ricocheted off his face. Danny pulled his hands away from his red face, either from embarrassment or from the ball smacking his face. Either way, it was really red.

"Ask anybody, I am _not_ ugly!" Danny said and then grabbed the arm of a leggy blonde that was walking by them. "Do you think I'm ugly?"

"Of course not, who could say someone as hot as you is ugly?" the girl asked as she searched her purse for something. She pulled out a marker, and grabbed his hand and started to write on his palm. "Call me when you have free time."

"How about tonight?" Danny asked with a grin.

"I'll be waiting" the girl replied.

:"Wait, how about I get you something to drink right now."

"Ok" and with that, the girl walked away, Danny walking with her.

"How the heck does he do that?" Harry asked Tom.

"I bet she's doing that out of pity" Rhuben grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest. Jacqui looked over at her, her eyes wide.

"I get what you mean when you said he was a perv."

"Oh, he's not a pervert," Tom said as he shook his head. "He's just really, _really_, obsessed with girls"

"Obsessed enough that he and Tom bet that he wouldn't be able to get a date from you by the end of the quarter" Harry's eyes widened and he clamped his hands over his mouth as Tom slapped himself on the forehead.

"You…did…WHAT?" Rhuben shouted, catching the attention of some people who were lounging nearby.

"What's going on?" Sydney asked as he and Gen hurried over to the four of them. "Why did you scream?" he asked tugging on Rhuben's arm.

"She just found out that Tom and Danny bet that Danny would get a date with Rhuben by the end of the quarter" Noah supplied.

"What side did you bet on?" Gen asked.

"That he wouldn't of course" Tom replied, acting as if he was offended.

"Well thank you for that" Rhuben said calmly as she crossed her arms over her chest, a small smile on her face. Jacqui looked at her and then started jumping up and down, flapping her wrists.

"You have an idea don't you?" she asked excitedly. "You have that 'thinking-smirk' on your face."

"Of course I have an idea, I Just need Dougie, Riley, and Patrick over here so I can tell all of you my plan at one time"

* * *

"Your turn, Riles" Patrick said as he glided to a stop next to Riley and sat down on his surfboard. Riley nodded and lay down on her stomach and started to paddle towards and oncoming wave. She held onto the front of her board and dove under one small wave, when she resurfaced; she paddled towards a larger wave. "Whoo! You go, girl!"

Riley turned her board around, the aroma from the coconut scented board wax, filled her head as she stood up on the board, letting the gravity of the wave pull her down. Bending her knees and spreading her arms out to the sides, she propelled herself forward and sped across the water, her right hand barely brushing the wave. Twisting her body, she pulled the board away from the wave and into the flatter, calm water.

"HEY, WATCH IT!"

Looking ahead of her, Riley saw that Dougie was treading in the water right where he board was going. At the last second, Riley dove off of her board and Dougie dove underwater to avoid being hit. When they resurfaced, Patrick was frantically paddling towards the two of them, and Riley and Dougie grabbed onto Riley's board and bobbed in the water.

"What were you trying to do, kill me?" Dougie demanded.

"_ME_?" Riley shrieked back. "_YOU _were the one who was in my way! If you hadn't noticed, you're not supposed to be swimming in a surfing area!"

"How would I have known, I haven't been to this beach before and there aren't any signs" Dougie replied, fuming.

"Any idiot could tell that you weren't supposed to swim here. Oops, my bad, I guess I'm insulting others who aren't as _stupid as you are_!" Riley snapped back.

"Ri-Ri, it's both of your faults" Patrick said gently as he glided up next to them. "He didn't know that he wasn't supposed to be swimming in this area. And you were the one that kind of almost ran into him."

"Who asked you?" Riley hissed at her brother.

"I like the way he thinks" Dougie said and smirked at Riley, who shook her head in reply.

"No you don't" she sighed and got onto her board. "This is the guy that thought that geometry and geography was the same thing. And he was the one that thought 22 times 40 was 2240."

"Whatever" Patrick rolled his eyes and looked towards shore. "Hey, I think Rhu-Rhu wants us to come in. Dougie, do you want to swim or go back in on one of our boards?"

"I say strand him here for the sharks" Riley grumbled.

"I'm kind of tired, so I'll go in on a board" Dougie replied and smiled at the scowl that Riley shot him as she moved forward on her board to make some room for him. "Thank you" he said and pulled himself onto the back of her board.

"You're lucky that my board can handle a lot of weight, or you'd be shark food." Riley muttered.

"Yeah, I'm surprised that someone as fat as you can stay on this board without sinking" Dougie said as he, Riley, and Patrick started paddling towards the shore.

"I'm going to let that go because I still need you for that English project."

"Sure"

"What's up, Rhu-Rhu, what'd you want us to come in for?" Patrick asked as soon as they got to the shore.

"You guys aren't going to believe what we found out!" Jacqui cried excitedly.

"Jay, let Rhu explain what happened" Gen said calmly. "And _then_ you can go into your excited-hyper mode."

"All right" Jacqui pouted and waited for Rhuben to explain.

"So, I found out from _big mouth_ over there," she jerked her thumb towards Harry, who whistled innocently and rocked back and forth on his heels. "That Danny and Tom made a bet that he would be able to get a date with me by the end of the quarter."

"Wow, then you must have found out that the consequence if he doesn't is that he has to sniff my gym socks." Dougie said as he brushed his wet hair away from his face.

"No, but that's a good consequence" Gen said with a grin.

"Anyway, we have a plan to get back at Danny for that" Rhuben replied. "You guys know the show 'Hell Date'?"

"I've heard of it" Tom replied as Harry and Dougie shook their heads.

"It's a show where these people are set up on blind dates with people who act like the worst dates possible" Sydney explained.

"So what we're going to do is make Rhuben act like she wants to go out with Danny, and then she'll act like the worst date possible" Patrick said, catching on.

"I don't see why everyone says that you're so stupid" Dougie said as he shook his head.

"Trust me, you didn't get to know him yet" Noah said dryly.

"But, we love ya anyway, Pat" Jacqui said and hugged him around the neck.

"What do Dougie and I have to do with this?" Riley asked slowly as she measured the looks on their faces.

"You two have to be their double date" Gen replied.

"Why don't you and Tom be the double date, or Harry and Jacqui?" Riley demanded.

"You two already act like a married couple" Jacqui pointed out, with a smile on her face. "All you have to do is start going out and have children"

"What do we get out of this if we go along with your little plan?" Dougie asked.

"The happiness and satisfaction on helping your friends?" Harry asked.

"No, you guys help us on our English project" Riley replied with a smug smile on her face.

"No problem, how are you going to show Human Nature?" Rhuben asked in reply.

"We'll let you know as soon as we think of it" Dougie replied.


	12. Chapter 11: Danny's Date

**A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews to all of our JML/McFly stories. Because of that, you guys get an extra long chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven – Danny's Date**

"What's the big deal about Homecoming?" Harry asked as he and the rest of McFly sat in his and Tom's dorm room after leaving the beach. They were watching TV and eating everything that was in the refrigerator.

"They worry about hair" Dougie said with a nod.

"Make up" Tom added.

"Nails" Danny said with a grin.

"And last but not least," Harry started with a grin.

"Dates" Harry, Danny, Dougie, and Tom said in unison and laughed lightly. Tom was the first one to stop laughing and he picked at the lint on the side of the cough.

"Speaking of dates, do you guys have one yet? Tom asked as he looked up from the couch.

"No" the three boys replied.

"And I don't care!" Dougie added, to make his point clear.

"What about you, Tom?" Harry asked the spiky blonde boy. Tom couldn't help but give a small smile.

"I'm going with Gen" he replied.

"Did you ask her or did she ask you?" Danny asked, as if it was a life or death question.

"I asked her" Tom replied slowly.

"When?" Danny asked.

"Why? Harry asked.

"How?"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"You guys need to grow up" Tom said as he shook his head, ignoring the questions.

"And who cares anyway?"

* * *

**Homecoming Dance 2008!**

**Where: Red Heat**

**When: Saturday, October 13, 2007**

**8-12**

**Tickets can be purchased in the front hall all this week before and after school, and during lunch, starting at $10 Monday!**

**-Couples tickets available for $20 on Friday.-  
-Goes up one dollar each day.-**

* * *

It was supposed to be that we were going to the mall after the beach. 

I loved it because you could just hang out with your friends and blow off your homework until the day was over and rush to do it the next morning, when it was due. But this particular afternoon was apparently not to be spent happily seeing as I was literally being dragged away from my precious food, much to my and Riley's surprise.

"Um…guys? Where are we going?" I asked my friends.

Gen looked at me like I had lost my mind. "Guess," she said sarcastically.

"But Guess is at the other end of the mall! And I thought you hated that place!" Riley exclaimed while we tried to pull out of our friends' clutches. Gen and Jacqui both stopped moving, while keeping a firm grip on our arms, looked at each other, sent us a look, and then continued with the dragging.

"What did _that_ look mean?" Riley said indignantly.

"Nothing, guys," Jacqui replied. "Nothing at all."

"Sure it did," I replied sarcastically, "So…where are we going?"

"Hey, Rhuben?" Gen asked.

"Yes?"

"Why don't you use your head for once and figure it out."

I scowled at her. "I resent that." That was when I spotted Macy's looming ahead of us. "Nooooo! Not Macy's! NOT MACY'S!" I yelled and thrashed harder.

"Why not Macy's?" Gen asked with a small smile.

" 'Cause! Whenever you two drag someone, usually us, to Macy's, it can only mean one thing!" Riley shot back.

"And…what would that be?" Jacqui asked with a smirk.

"It means they are going to be the center of your attention for the next three hours as you take them on your insane—"

"SHOPPING SPREE!" Gen and Jacqui said at the same time.

"NO!" Riley and I shouted back.

I whimpered. "That's what I was afraid of."

"Shut up and get in there!" Jacqui said and dragged us into the store.

One thing you should know about getting dragged into department stores by your insane friends: if the staff have seen you in here almost every day, they really don't give a damn what you do as long as you don't run off with anything. At this precise moment, I was not very happy about this fact.

Why, you ask?

Because it allowed my oh so wonderful friends to make a fool out of poor little defenseless me.

And Riley too.

As I walked out of the dressing room in what had to have been the seventy-eighth dress I'd tried on in the past two hours, Gen and Jacqui quickly ushered me over to the mirrors.

"And just why are we doing this, again?" I asked as they scrutinized the dress. I was starting to feel sorry for all of these dresses.

"Because," Gen said, "homecoming is only two weeks away, and you don't have a dress yet!"

"What makes you think we're even going?" Riley asked as she sat in a chair, lots of bags on her lap.

"You're going whether you like it or not" Gen replied. "Besides, that red dress is gorgeous on you"

"Don't use that word" Riley snapped automatically.

Ten minutes later, after many comments about the bad things about this particular dress, Jacqui announced it unsuitable, and I got dragged off to look through more racks filled with hundreds of dresses.

Forty-five minutes and thirty-three dresses later, my insane friends had finally narrowed it down to five dresses. Five out of the one hundred and eleven I had tried on in the past two and a half hours. And I knew I was going to have absolutely no say in which dresses were chosen until there were only three left, despite the fact that _I_ was the one who had to wear it.

So as they lined up the last five dresses, I tried to convince them to speed up the process. "You think you could hurry up?" I asked. "It's getting late, and I'm hungry." They both waved off my comment and continued to talk. I sighed to myself. I knew it was pointless. Ten minutes later they finally decided that my opinion was important.

"Which one to you like the least?" Jacqui said. "Yellow, Black, or Brown?"

"Hm….yellow." I said as I scooped it up to put it back.

"But I liked that one!" Gen exclaimed.

I dumped it unceremoniously into her arms. "Then you can have it."

"But I already have my dress."

"Then stop complaining."

Gen then proceeded to stick her tongue out at me. I responded accordingly while Jacqui rolled her eyes. "Can we get back to the matter at hand?" she said in an annoyed tone.

After re-examining the last two dresses, I held them both up for their opinions.

"Black," Gen said.

"Brown," Jacqui said.

"Don't ask me" Riley said and stuck her face back into the magazine that she had stolen off of a rack from an earlier store that we were at.

"Of course," I said as I went to try them both on one last time.

I only liked the black one. It was a v-neck halter, gathered a little at the middle to display curves, with a zigzagged skirt just past the knees that whirled around me when I spun.

When I walked out in the black one, they both had nothing but praise for it, so I took it off and paid for it. "Now what?" I said.

"Well, Rhuben, Riley," Gen said, "Since we convinced—"

—I cut her off with a cough that sounded uncannily like the word "forced"—

"—Okay, forced you into buying a dress, we thought we let you choose where to eat dinner."

"Is it really that late?" Jacqui asked as me grabbed my wrist to look at me watch. "Wow, I guess it is. And I bet I know where she wants to eat…"

"PIZZA!" Riley and I yelled with a goofy grin on our faces.

Gen and Jacqui looked at each other. "Of course."

And with that, we set off through the mall, arms linked, in our search for pizza.

* * *

"So, mate, are you going to ask Rhuben out again?" Tom asked the next day as they walked along the empty campus.

"I don't know, why?" Danny asked, looking at his friends suspiciously as they tired not to let anything on their faces give anything away.

"We think you should try again" Dougie said in the most innocent voice that he could muster. "I mean, you never seemed to give up before, why give up now?"

"There's something going on with you guys" Danny said as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and flicked his head so his curly hair would move from his eyes. "Normally you'd be making fun of me, not trying to help me."

"Well, we're trying to help you because she was talking to us after you left with that blonde girl, and it seemed like she was jealous" Harry jumped in when Tom and Dougie frantically thought of something to say.

"Really?" Danny asked as he stopped walking and wrinkled his nose. "She doesn't seem like the jealous type."

"She's not" Dougie said and his eyes widened when he realized what mistake he had made as Danny looked at him in confusion.

"What he means is that she's _normally_ not the jealous type. But I mean, look at you," Tom said as he laughed nervously. "You're hot. At least the girls think so."

"So I should seriously ask her again?" Danny asked and grinned. "She'll say yes?"

"We can almost guarantee it" Harry said and he, Dougie, and Tom grinned encouragingly. "Hey, look who's here!" he said in an almost shout and pointed behind Danny's shoulder.

"Oh my god!" Jacqui shouted, in the same non-convincing way Harry had just shouted. "Look who's here, what a coincidence! What are _you guys_ doing here?" she asked as she, Riley, Rhuben, and Gen walked over to McFly.

"Jay, we said to be convincing, _not_ scream everything" Riley murmured before forcing a smile. "How are you guys since we last seen you? Which was just yesterday?"

"We're doing fine, talking about homecoming and stuff" Tom replied with a shrug and then turned to Gen. "We're still going together, right?"

"I doubt I'd change my mind after a day" Gen laughed. "Yeah, we're still going together."

"What about you guys?" Harry asked "Are you going to the dance too?"

"We don't have a choice, since we're the live performance" Rhuben replied. "Well, us and our brothers. It wouldn't be a performance without all of the DarkElements."

"Brag much?" Dougie asked.

"Shut up" Riley snapped in reply and then quickly changed the subject. "Do you guys have anything planned for today? 'Cause Dougie and I need help on our project and-"

"Actually, I need to ask Rhuben something" Danny interrupted and then turned to her. "Would you like to go out with me tonight? I did some research and there's this small café thing that's a bit off campus and we could walk there."

"Sure" Rhuben said and smirked, although it looked like a genuine smile to Danny and he grinned in reply. "That sounds awesome."

"More than you know" Jacqui said and then covered her mouth with her hands. "What I said was I bet you…_didn't know_ that Riley and Dougie are going to be joining you!"

"Really?" Danny asked turning to Dougie with an amused looked on his face. "I didn't know that."

"Oh yeah, I…blackmailed her into it" Dougie said, more as if it was a question. "So, yeah, we'll be tagging along."

"Just try not to argue all night long" Tom said with a small smile.

"Sure" Riley said and rolled her eyes. "So, I guess we'll be seeing you guys later. Dougie? Can I have your cell number?"

"Why?" Dougie asked, looking annoyed.

"Just give it to her!" Harry hissed and lightly kicked him in the side of the leg. "You might need it later."

"Sure" Dougie sighed and took her phone and typed his number into her cell phone. His eyes lit up as he thought of something. "I just got a brilliant beyond brilliant idea for our project!"

"Well, we have to be going" Gen said and started to walk away. "Riles, you coming?"

"I'll catch up in a second!" Riley called back and then turned back to Dougie. "What is it?"

Dougie looked over at Danny before lowering his voice. "We use their date for our project. So we can show what two people think that the date would be like."

"But our information will be false because Rhuben is doing this as a prank." Riley pointed out.

"So, the teacher doesn't know that" Dougie replied impatiently.

"All right" Riley replied and held up her hands. "I'll see you later tonight" she went and hurried to catch up to her friends. "Everything all set?"

"Yep, we just need to get all black clothes and walkie-talkies" Gen replied and then explained when Riley and Rhuben gave her a look. "No prank at night is complete without wearing lots of black"

"True" Rhuben agreed.

"All right!" Jacqui cheered and punched the air. "Operation: Fake Date is a go!"

* * *

"Danny, would you hurry up already?" Dougie asked as he looked at his watch impatiently.

"What time did he say that you were meeting them outside the school?" Tom asked from the couch. He and Harry were wearing bath robes, but underneath it were the black clothes that they were going to wear to follow them.

"I don't know" Dougie admitted. "Anyway, you guys got the walkie-talkies, camera, and tape recorder?"

"Yep, we got everything" Harry grinned in reply.

"69 dudes, this is going to be awesome!" Dougie cried cheerfully.

"Sure, just don't say '69 dude' in public" Tom replied as he made a face. "People might be offended. But I don't know what I'm talking about; you say the first thing that pops into your head."

"So, how do I look?" Danny asked as he walked out of the bathroom.

"Who cares, let's go!" Dougie said and pushed Danny to the door of the dorm room. "See you later guys" he called over his shoulder. 

Tom and Harry waited until they heard Danny's and Dougie's footsteps fading before leaping off of the couch and taking off their bathrobes. Both of them were wearing black t-shirts, black pants and black shoes. They pulled black beanies on their heads to complete the look. Harry grabbed the walkie-talkie from his pocket, as it squawked.

"_TommyGun and HardHarry, this is Genetic and JayBird here. SpitFire and Darky have flown the coop"_ Jacqui's voice came through the small speaker. "_Over._"

"This is TommyGun and HardHarry, Danny and Dougie have left too. Over." Harry replied.

Tom grabbed the walkie-talkie from Harry's hands. "And I think all of the codenames are confusing. Over."

"_This is Genetic. Code names make everything better. Now MOVE OUT. Over!"_

"Let's go" Tom said and he and Harry left the dorm room.

* * *

"Here you go" Danny said and pulled out Rhuben's chair for her. She gave a small smile and sat down. Danny and Dougie sat down after and Riley rolled her eyes as she sat down.

"I'm fine, I don't need _my_ chair pulled out" she said sarcastically.

"What, do you think I'm _that_ big a gentleman?" Dougie asked her.

"I don't think you're a gentleman at all, I think you're a son of a-"

"Waiter!" Rhuben nearly shouted, causing Danny to jump and widen his eyes slightly. Dougie snickered to himself and leaned back in his seat and looked across the restaurant. Jacqui, Harry, Gen, and Tom popped their heads out from behind fake and real plants and waved.

"YO! WAITER OVER HERE!"

"Um, could you not yell? Lots of people are trying to have a nice peaceful dinner" Danny said to Rhuben gently and raised an arm in the air, signaling a waiter.

"Yes?" the waiter asked. What Danny didn't know was that the waiter was Rhuben's and Riley's older brother Julius in disguise. "What would you like?"

"We'd like four roast beef and vegetable appetizers" Danny replied.

"Yeah, and I would like spaghetti and meatballs, and that fillet mignon, and that vegetable soup thing, everything on the side" Rhuben added and snapped her menu shut and slapped it into Julius' chest. "And make it quick!"

"Yes ma'am" Julius replied and tried not to burst out laughing. Dougie elbowed Riley in the ribs, causing her to cough and spit water onto the table. She glared at him and he pointed across the room where Jacqui, Gen, Harry, and Tom were frantically waving them over. Dougie grabbed his fork and threw it across the table.

"Oops, dropped my fork, I'm just going to go…_over there_ to look for it!" he said and got down from his chair and crawled on his hands and knees across the restaurant.

"I have to…go to the bathroom" Riley stood up, flashed Rhuben a thumbs up and quickly hurried in the direction that Dougie went and crouched behind the plants the others were at. "How's everything looking?"

"Great, she just went and stole a piece of chicken off of a left over plate" Tom said and chuckled. "Your sister sure knows how to act like a hell date."

"We've studied the show a lot" Gen grinned in reply. "I think we should watch them a little bit longer and then leave."

"So, do we need to be here anymore?" Riley asked Dougie.

"I think a few minuets; I need to know what else we'll get for our project" Dougie replied and he and Riley high-fived before going back to their table.

"You know, I think they're finally starting to get along" Jacqui observed. As they watched, Riley brought her right foot up and kicked Dougie in the butt. "Then again, maybe not."

"What is she doing?" Riley asked when they sat back down.

"She's trying to get something out of her teeth" Danny replied and leaned backwards when Rhuben leaned closer to him.

"Do I have anything left in my teeth?" she asked.

"Uh, no, but how about I get the CHECK!" Danny yelled, waving his arm.

"_Now_ we can get out of here" Dougie sand and leapt out of his chair.

"Right behind ya!" Riley followed him. "Mission Accomplished" she hissed to her friends as the two of them passed the plants.

"Got it" Tom replied and then sneezed, knocking over the plants that he, Harry, Gen, and Jacqui were standing behind. "Oops" he muttered and then grinned when the people at the table by them stared in shock.

"Let's get out of here!" Jacqui cried and she and Harry ran out of the restaurant with Tom and Gen at their heels.

Leaving a sullen Danny and a triumphant Rhuben at their table…

* * *

**A/N: WOW! 10 Pages in Microsoft Word. And I did it all for you reviewers. Thanks guys, you give me lots of inspiration for this story.**


	13. Chapter 12: BUSTED

**Chapter Twelve – BUSTED**

Dougie and Riley ran from the café, stumbling over themselves as they gasped for air from laughing too hard.

"Did you see the look on his face when she screamed across the café?" Riley asked, holding her sides from laughing so hard.

"And when she asked Danny if she had anything in her teeth," Dougie added with a grin. "_That _got me the most. It will probably turn him off of eating for forever."

"It was a great idea for you to suggest that we use their 'date' as our project" Riley grinned as she stood up straight.

"Yeah, I know, I'm awesome like that" Dougie agreed. "I'm sure we're going to get an 'A'" Laughing, the two high-fived, but when they remembered that they were supposed to hate each other, their laughter was cut short. "Where are you going?" Dougie asked when Riley started to walk away.

"I'm going back to the campus so I can call my dad and ask him to take me home." Riley replied. "And if I don't go now, I'm going to be late for the campus curfew. If that happens, my dad will be pissed."

"Aww, you don't want to make your daddy angry?" Dougie asked in a whiny tone as he caught up to her.

"I'm going to let that slide because you don't know what my dad is like when he's pissed off" Riley said as she continued walking.

"So what if we break curfew?" Dougie asked as he stopped walking. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen? You get a detention and you're on academic probation, so what?"

"Douglas-"Riley stopped walking and turned back to him.

"I bet you're scared" Dougie said in a challenging tone. "I bet you're scared to go out past curfew and sneak back in."

"I'm _not_ scared" Riley growled.

"Then prove it" Dougie replied, smirking as he crossed his arms across his chest. "I'll take you somewhere where I bet you'll forget about the curfew."

"Oh yeah, where's that?" Riley asked in the same conceited tone that he was sporting.

"Follow me" Dougie said and started walking in the opposite direction that Riley was going. Cursing to herself, Riley followed him, shoving her hands into her pockets. "By the way, you looked nice tonight" Dougie called over his shoulder.

"Just keep walking" Riley grumbled, thankful tat it was dark so he didn't her see her cheeks turning red.

"No need to blush" Dougie said, as if he could read her face, even though he wasn't looking at her. "Although you don't have to curse yourself for it, a lot of girls blush when I talk to them."

"And a lot of them stick their fingers down their throats and vomit" Riley shot back harshly. "Where are we going?"

"You'll know as soon as we get there" Dougie replied. Riley snorted.

"You've only been to LA for a couple of weeks, how do you know where you're going?" She asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Just trust me"

"Famous last words."

Dougie chuckled and brushed his hair out of his face as he continued walking. The two walked in silence until they reached a boardwalk carnival. Riley snorted and then started to laugh.

"You brought me to a _carnival_?" she asked in disdain. "I hadn't come here since I was 6."

"That probably explains why you have such a bitchy attitude" Dougie replied. Gritting her teeth in anger, Riley grabbed Dougie's arm and pulled him around to face her.

"Listen here, you don't know a _dammed thing _about my life. And I can honestly say that you are probably the _worst_ person that I have ever met. You're cocky, rude, and quite frankly, are getting on my damned nerves. But the only thing you'll never know is how my life is. So _stop_ acting like my life is perfect and that you should hate me for it. Because you don't know what I go through every day."

"Oh yeah? What about you?" Dougie shot back. "You're always snapping at me, even when I'm trying to be honest about something. You're always putting me down, and you're always getting into fights with me. And you always blame it on me! Newsflash, princess, every reason we argue is because of you!"

"At least I don't have a cocky attitude," Riley shot back. "Always going around and saying how hot you are. Oh sure, you're so freaking hot and sexy."

"Well, we agree on that" Dougie said and smirked. Riley poked him in the chest with his index finger.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about. You're too self centered!"

"I WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE IF YOU WEREN'T SUCH A BITCH!" Dougie shouted back, losing his temper.

"NOT LIKE YOU'RE DOING ANYTHING TO HELP, BASTARD!" Riley screamed. She paced back and forth, clenching and unclenching her hands into fists. She then noticed people staring at her. "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?" She shouted at them.

"See, there you go, being such a bitch that you have to go and scream at random people!" Dougie said as he motioned towards the family that had scurried away at Riley's outburst. Turning around, Riley hit Dougie across the face, knocking his lip ring out of his lip.

Cursing and holding a hand to his bloody lip, he hit her back and then froze.

"What, scared that you hit a girl?" Riley taunted. "Come on, hit me again and see how tough you are."

Dougie looked like he was trying to decide what to do, but then his eyes widened and he looked at his watch. Riley slowly stood up straight.

"What's wrong?" she asked warily. "You late to poison someone?"

"No, you doofus," Dougie replied and then raised an eyebrow as if he was warning her not to come closer. "We've spent so much time arguing that we hadn't realized how late it's been getting."

"And this is coming from the person that didn't want _me_ to worry about curfews" Riley scoffed.

"That's not the problem." Dougie replied, shaking his head. "I've been skipping a lot of classes lately and they said that if I do something really big, being busted, I'm going to get expelled from the school."

"I thought you wanted to get out of this school" Riley replied, cocking her head to the side.

"I did" Dougie replied as he looked off towards where the ocean was, looking at the dark waves as they rolled over each other. "But it's gotten better. Besides, Jake, my manager, would be majorly pissed if I get kicked out and I don't want him up my bum. So, do you know a fast way to get to the school?"

"I'm going to have to sneak back into my house, but it'll be worth it" Riley sighed and stretched her calf muscles. "Can you run?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"How far can you run before you get really tired?"

"How the bloody hell should I know that?"

"Just follow me and try to keep up as beast as you can then."

Riley took off down the boardwalk and Dougie ran after her, slower than she was running, but fast enough that she would still be in his sights. She led him through crowded restaurants and through back alleys as they ran back to the school. About twenty minuets later, she stopped to a walk and held her hands behind her head, breathing heavily. Dougie was already walking, holding onto his sides as he walked up to her.

"Why'd…you stop?" he gasped before gasping for air again.

"Before I answer your question. Do you run, or do any sports at all?" Riley asked, staring at him critically and then reached out and slapped his stomach. "Because you should be faster than me."

"Well _excuse me_, but touring the UK and playing in a famous band is kind of time consuming." Dougie replied.

"We stopped because we're at the school" Riley replied in a hushed whisper as she started to walk across the campus. "Now, I'm going to show you the back way to the guys' dorms because there are always security guards around here, so you're going to have to be quiet."

The two walked in silence for five minuets before Dougie sighed and spoke.

"I'm sorry" he said.

"Pardon?" Riley asked, startled as she stopped walking.

"I said I'm sorry. For, like, everything that has been going on since I got here. But it kind of was your fault, you got mad at me when I didn't know that you'd be skateboarding there."

"I'm…sorry too" Riley replied and winced as if it killed her to say it. "Yeah, I'm sorry too. Look, do you think we could-"

"Shh!" Dougie hissed and placed his hand over her mouth and his eyes shifted back and forth as he listened. "I hear something…I think its one of the security guards."

"C'mon" Riley grabbed his hand and ran around the side of the building, but cursed when she heard footsteps coming from the direction she was running in, and from behind them. The footsteps in the eerily silent campus just caused their fear to grow more. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit."

"Shut up" Dougie hissed as he pressed her into the shadows of the building that they were standing behind.

"What are you doing?"

"Just shut _up_ for once in your life"

Dougie placed his chin on her shoulder and waited as he stood, holding his body against hers. Riley gritted her teeth in anger and embarrassment as they waited for the footsteps to fade. As soon as they didn't hear anything, she pushed him away from her, not looking at him.

"Come on, we're almost there" she said and continued to walk/jog to the boys dormitories. Stopping at the back, she pulled a pocket knife out of her back pocket and pried open the window and pushed it open. "There you go, get in."

"Do you seriously think that I can squeeze in though that window?" Dougie scoffed.

"I'm not much smaller than you and I can fit in there," Riley replied. "And I should know...I've tried. There's a ledge at the bottom that you can grab onto and pulled yourself through. So, go already."

"But-"

"What are you two doing?"

Dougie and Riley froze when a beam from a flashlight landed on them and a security guard walked towards them, a menacing look on his face.

* * *

"I don't my fingers are ever going to stop pruning" Gen grumbled as she looked at her wrinkly hands before turning to Jacqui. "If you didn't knock over the plants we wouldn't have had to wash all of those dishes."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jacqui cried and then jabbed Tom in the stomach with her fist. "_He _was the one who sneezed!"

"It was the dust on those stupid fake plants, it seemed like a handful of it got shoved up my nose, what did you expect me to do, hold my nose and blow my bloody brains out?" Tom asked in defense.

"That's exactly what you should have done!" Harry cried. "But no, now we're going to be in trouble when we get back to the school because we're going to be past curfew."

"Do you know how to get back to the school?" Tom asked.

"That's like asking do I know how to breathe" Gen scoffed in reply. "Thanks to Riley and Rhuben, I know every way to sneak back into the school. But…I can't guarantee that there's going to be a chance that we'll get caught."

Jacqui and Gen started to speed walk towards the school from the café and Harry and Tom followed them. They were nervous about getting caught, but they were also nervous about not being seen by people who were driving their cars because they were wearing all black and it was really late.

"The only way we can get back to the school is if we cross the street?" Tom asked nervously, voicing their thoughts. "I mean, we're wearing black, and not many people will be able to see us if we're in all black."

"I was thinking the same thing." Harry agreed.

"Uh oh, Harry thinking, that's not a great combination" Jacqui joked.

"You should use that joke on Danny, it would be much more accurate" Harry replied as he sighed heavily.

"Do you hear that?" Gen asked as she stopped walking.

"Hear what?" Tom asked as he looked over at her.

"I thought I heard dogs barking" she replied slowly and then turned to Jacqui. "It must be Mr. Monroe's dogs; he never keeps them on the leash like he's supposed to."

"What kind of dogs are they?" Harry asked.

"Um, that kind" Jacqui replied as she pointed in front of them and stopped walking. Harry, Gen, and Tom walked into her and they fell to the ground. "Ok, guys, it's not going to help to run away if you're all lying on top of me." She thought for a second and then started to crack up.

"Jacqui, this isn't a good time for you to be perverted." Gen scolded as Tom helped her to her feet. "Thank you."

"No problem."

Jacqui jumped back as the dog growled menacingly and slowly walked towards them. "Guys, I think that we should run." Hearing no answer she turned to look behind her. "Guys?" she saw that they were running away, screaming at the top of their lungs. "Oh, thanks guys!"

Jacqui ran after Tom, Harry, and Gen, the dog chasing after her. A few feet ahead of her, Gen, Tom, Harry climbed up into a tree. Looking over her shoulder, Jacqui let out a cry as the dog seemed to be right on her tail. Leaning down from the tree, Harry held his arms out.

"Jacqui, jump, hurry!" he shouted. Jacqui jumped and grabbed onto his wrists and Harry pulled her up into the tree. The dog sat underneath the tree, barking up at them.

"How long do you think its going to stay there?" Tom asked, gasping for air. Gen shook her head.

"I don't know this dog is a vicious one." She replied. 

"Well then, I suppose it's time for a human sacrifice" Harry sighed.

"Tom, you get down there." Jacqui cried. "You have more meat then the rest of us."

"Are you saying I'm fat?" Tom gasped.

"Yes! Now, get down there!" Jacqui replied and tried to shove him out of the tree, but he had a death grip on the bark that was underneath his hands.

"I'm _not_ going to be ripped apart by that dog, just because I have _more meat than anyone_ in this damn bloody tree!" he snapped back.

"Guys, calm down, I think that the dog is leaving anyway" Gen said in a soothing tone as she leaned over slightly to get a good look at the ground. "But… I think we're in even more trouble than before."

"Why do you say that?" Harry asked.

"Because there's a police officer shining a flashlight into the tree, and I just remembered that in this park, it's against the law to climb the trees" Jacqui replied in monotone as the light was shined on her.

"Worst part?" Harry offered.

"Since we're so close to the school, they're going to know that we're from there." Gen sighed and started to lower herself to the ground, the others right behind them. "But the worst, worst, part is that we look like we're going to rob a house."

* * *

"Are you…always like that on dates?" Danny asked as he and Rhuben paid the check and slowly walked back to the school.

"I'm sorry Danny, well not really, but this was all just a joke" Rhuben said and grinned to herself as Danny stopped walking and looked concerned and…upset."

"A joke?" he repeated.

"Yeah" Rhuben turned and punched his arm in anger. "If you didn't bet on me, none of this would have happened. And since this date wasn't real and there's no other chance I'm going to go out with you, you have to smell Dougie's gym socks."

"You found out?" Danny asked in shock and confusion.

"I'm not stupid, Danny," Rhuben said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I was definitely going to find out eventually. It just took Harry to spill it that I found out sooner."

"I'm sorry, I guess" he muttered and he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sure you are" Rhuben rolled her eyes and walked ahead of Danny, he scurried to catch up with her. "I'm not in the mood to talk to you _Daniel_."

"But you're going to want to hear this" Danny said and grabbed her hand to stop her from walking. Rhuben roughly pulled her arm away. "We're going to be late for curfew, if we don't get back, like now."

"Shit" Rhuben muttered and then her eyes lit up. "I brought my bike, we can get back on that." She turned and ran to a nearby bush and pulled her bike from it. "Wow, Riley must have been really distracted if she left her skateboard here." She commented as she picked that up off the ground. Swinging her leg over the seat, she handed Danny Riley's skateboard. "Get on"

"But how am I supposed to hold on if I'm holding onto a skateboard?" Danny asked as he raised an eyebrow. Rhuben rolled her eyes and got off the bike.

"Then you get on first" she said and yanked the skateboard from his hands. "I don't have time to argue about this, I had to have been home 20 minuets ago."

"So why don't I just drop you off there first" Danny replied as he got on the bike.

"Because you don't want to see my dad pissed off" Rhuben replied and got on the bike behind him, holding the skateboard in front of his stomach. "Now peddle."

Danny sighed and directed the bike onto the sidewalk and started to peddle back towards the school as fast as he could. Ever few seconds Rhuben would look at her watch and make an impatient sighing sound.

"I'm going as fast as I can"

"Keep peddling, Daniel."

"It's Danny."

"Whatever." Rhuben replied as Danny pulled up at the school. "We're going to have to be quiet because there are probably-"

"FREEZE!"

"Lots of security guards around" Rhuben sighed in defeat.


	14. Chapter 13: After Effects

**A/N: I'm thinking of making a sequel to this story, just so you guys know. It's most likely going to be set in the summer, after this story. Oh, but don't worry, this story isn't even half over yet, so you don't have to worry about it ending any time soon, I mean, there's so much stuff you can get into in a boarding school.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen – After Effects**

"Oh man, my mom is going to kill me" Jacqui moaned as she dropped her head into her hands and rocked back and forth.

"_You're _mom is going to kill _you_?" Gen cried, almost hyperventilating. "My Gran will probably have a _heat attack_ when she figures out what I've done. I'm probably going to be expelled, oh, my mom and dad wouldn't like that either."

"I know, I'll just tell her that Riley and Rhuben put me up to it." Jacqui declared.

"_WHAT?" _The twin girls demanded in unison and glared at their friends.

"I'm sorry, but if my mom find out, I'm dead. So it's either a self sacrifice, or rat out my friends." She replied.

"Have you ever thought of what would happen _if you dad found out!_" Rhuben almost yelled. "I'm probably going to be expelled. My dad is going to freak and take it out on me!"

"What, would he hit you for being such a bad girl?" Dougie asked and pouted as if he was about to cry.

"That and probably something else that will kill me" Riley muttered to herself, hoping that no one would hear her. Unfortunately, Dougie did, but he just shook his head and kept quiet. "You know what, this is your fault."

"How is this _my_ fault?" Dougie demanded.

"_You_ were the one that wouldn't climb into the _stupid_ window in the first place!"

"Well, if you weren't so busy, _yelling at me_, then we wouldn't have had to be back so late!" Dougie yelled back.

"You know you're just making everything worse by shouting" Tom said calmly, but the two arguing teens ignored him.

"Easy for you to say, you started this whole thing!" Rhuben snapped and slapped Danny on the side of the head. "You _and_ sir-dumb a lot. If you didn't make that stupid bet, _none_ of this would have happened."

"No, it's the fact that we had to _come_ to this stupid _school_ in the first place!" Dougie snapped as he sank lower in his seat. Everybody turned to look at Harry, who was drumming his drumsticks against each other.

"What?" he asked when he noticed that everyone was looking at him.

"Don't you have anything to say?" Jacqui pressed. "Any way to vent your anger about this?"

"Not really, because I know that that's going to get me into even more trouble," Harry replied. "How long have the Security guards been in there?"

"Long enough for the principal to call our parents" Dougie sighed in reply. He reached his hand into his pants pocket as his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID. "See, it's my mom, she's probably calling to yell at me. Hello?" he asked when he answered his cell phone.

The others watched as his eyebrows knitted together and a vacant look hit his eyes as he scowled. "Sure, fine mom, it seems like you two already made the decision without asking me or Jazzie, so why the hell should I care now?" he asked in a hiss and then violently hung up.

"What was that about, mate?" Tom asked in concern.

"None of your bloody, business!" Dougie snapped back and plopped down into his chair, repeatedly bouncing his foot up and down.

"Ok, I want to know who's to blame here" Mr. Metcalfe said sternly as he walked out of his office and crossed his arms across his chest. Dougie glared up at him.

"It's your fault" he muttered. "For making it that students are able to stay on this bloody crap campus during the weekend."

"Would you like to repeat that Mr. Poynter?" Mr. Metcalfe asked as he looked down at the younger boy. Dougie continued to glare but didn't say anything. "Now, I'm thinking that _you_ were the one that started this whole thing."

"Go to hell"

"Mr. Poynter, come inside my office" Mr. Metcalfe said and took a step back.

"It wasn't him!" Riley cried, getting to her feet. "It was me. I was the one that gave him the idea to sneak back in after he stayed out too late. And it would take too long if I had to explain what I did to the rest of them, so you might as well let them go so I can tell you."

"Very well, Riley, but I want you to know that this will not go without you being severely punished, no matter how hard you try to get out of it" Mr. Metcalfe said.

"Yes sir" Riley muttered and walked into the office.

"The rest of you may go, Rhuben, tell your father to expect a call later" Mr. Metcalfe said to her. Gen and Jacqui shot their friend and sympathetic look. Danny looked at her and saw the fear that was in her eyes.

"Yes sir" she nodded and followed the others out of the school building.

"I wonder why she did that" Tom said to himself as they walked through the school building out to the courtyard. "Rhuben, do you know why she would single herself out instead of letting everybody take part of the blame?"

"Yeah," Rhuben replied, nodding. "She wanted to protect everybody."

* * *

Riley shuddered as she left Mr. Metcalfe's office and walked along the empty corridors to the court yard, so she could go back home and face the wrath of her father. If she had to choose who was worse, it would be her father hands down. Mr. Metcalfe was strict, but her father was mean, and she knew that she most likely wouldn't make it back to the school during the next school week. She knew that he wouldn't forget about it, and punish her more and more each day.

"Oh great, it just _has_ to be raining" She grumbled to herself as she pushed open the doors to the school. Pulling her beanie low over her head, she started walking across the courtyard, the rain instantly soaking her to the skin, cursing to herself. She stopped walking when she saw someone sitting on a bench, not caring that he/she was getting wet. "Hello?" she called to the person as she walked closer.

It was Dougie.

"Dougie, what are you doing out here?" Riley asked as she walked over to him. He looked at her and looked away, without saying anything. "Dougie, you do know it's raining, right?"

"I don't care" he muttered.

"What's wrong?"

"Why do _you_ care?"

Riley was slightly taken aback. She had no clue as to why she cared that he was sitting out there, but she also had a feeling that something was really wrong with him, and that naggy feeling that told her she should find out wouldn't leave her alone.

"I don't, not really" Riley replied and sat down on the bench next to him. "Why are you sitting out here in the rain?"

"Why are you?"

"Because I was on my way home and saw you sitting out here, and since you just got mad at the principal over something that your mom told you, I can pretty much guess that you're mad at your mom for some reason."

"You're very ovservative" Dougie muttered and drew his knees to his chest.

"That's it, no rude come back?" Riley asked, egging him on.

"I'm not in the mood, go away!" Dougie snapped.

"But you're in the mood to sit in the rain?" Riley asked and nodded. "Cause that makes perfect sense."

"What about you, you're daddy is going to miss you" Dougie shot back. Riley chuckled to herself and shook her head, taking off her beanie and wringing it out.

"My dad could care less." Riley replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "He would rather punish me before he tries to care about what I've done. He doesn't even come when it comes to something parents have to go to, which is why Julius is more of a father than my own father is."

"Oh," Dougie muttered, dropping his head onto his knees. "Sorry."

"Does this have to do with you dad?" Riley guessed.

"Ha, you can't even call him a dad. Recently, he's always at work, I didn't mind it because I didn't get to see him much anyway. But apparently mom was so fed up with it because she's filing for a divorce, without even talking to me or Jazzie about it."

"Sorry," Riley said lamely. "I know it probably doesn't help, but no one deserves something that rough, especially in the middle of a school year when kids are already stressed out as it is."

"No, it helps" Dougie replied softly.

"Well, I'm gonna go before I get sick." Riley said and got off the bench. She shoved her hands into her jeans pockets, looking uncomfortable. "Uh, hope things get better for ya. So, later" she turned and started to walk away.

"Wait a second," Dougie called. Riley turned around and waited as Dougie walked up to her, his head bent. He was sniffling, so Riley could tell that he was crying. "Can I have a hug?"

Wordlessly, Riley opened her arms and wrapped them around Dougie as he cried harder at his now broken family.


	15. Chapter 14: You Want Flies With That?

**Chapter Fourteen – You Want Flies With That**

"Rhuben, wait up a second!"

Rhuben didn't have to turn around to know that it was Danny who was trying to catch up with her before she entered the Chemistry classroom after school for detention. She ignored him and went into the classroom, closing the door in his face.

"Hey Jacqui," she greeted her friend with a heavy sigh. "How was the rest of your weekend?"

"Terrible, my mom found out and she now wants me to call her everyday after school is over so she knows what I'm up to" Jacqui grumbled in reply as she grabbed a pair of safety goggles from the cabinet. "And I'm stuck here for my detention."

"Same here, I think all of us are. But I also think I can get out of it because I have to go to work today." Rhuben replied and grinned, completely ignoring Danny as he went to his seat. Jacqui looked at her curiously

"Doesn't Riley have to work?" she asked and Rhuben shook her head.

"No, since she has detention for like a month, the principal won't even let her go to work. It sucks because our job is _much_ more interesting than detention." Rhuben said as she sat down on the end of the table.

"You're telling me" Riley grumbled as she entered the classroom and dropped onto the table across from Rhuben, lightly kicking her sister's foot. "But it was worth it if you guys aren't in trouble."

"Yeah, but you have detention for a month" Jacqui pointed out. Riley rolled her shoulders and shrugged carelessly.

"It's the price to pay" she replied.

"Speaking of price to pay," Jacqui said and nodded towards the door as Tom, Gen, Harry, and Dougie entered the room. "I think Dougie wants to pay you back in full."

"You're disgusting" Rhuben laughed.

"Uh, Riley" Dougie said lowly as he walked up to her. Riley turned around and crossed her legs.

"What's up?" she asked him as Rhuben and Jacqui pretended to be busy with a concoction that was in a beaker.

"Uh, I wanted to thank you for…um…helping me after what happened with my mom." He replied, looking at his feet before looking at her. "So, thanks."

"No problem" Riley replied and held out a fist. Dougie smiled and bumped her fist with his.

"Hey, wait for me after detention, ok?" he asked.

"Sure, I'm not going anywhere" Riley muttered. Dougie smiled and went to sit with his friends at the back of the classroom.

"Wow, you two seem to getting pretty cozy" Gen teased as she pulled a chair up to their table.

"Nah, we just understand each other." Riley replied.

"So, what's with the, helping thing about his mom?" Rhuben asked as she cocked an eyebrow.

"Can't tell ya" Riley replied as she pulled a drawing pad out of her backpack. "I promised."

"Aww, you promised your new boyfriend?" Jacqui asked in a teasing way. Riley glared fiercely and didn't reply, causing Jacqui to realize her mistake. "Oh." Her cheeks turned red in embarrassment. "I'm sorry Riles; I didn't mean to bring him up."

"Its all right, you didn't mean to" Riley sighed in depression. "What time is it?" she asked Gen, who looked at her watch.

"Its time for you to take your pill if that's what you're worried about."

"Jacqui, you're smoking!" Harry called from the back of the room. Jacqui blushed and bowed her head as Riley, Rhuben, and Gen looked at her as if she was crazy before leaping away from the table and their friend.

"No, idiot! The thing is smoking!" Rhuben cried. In a matter of seconds, the concoction that Jacqui was making blew up, causing white smoke to fill the room. Tom raced to the back of the room and pulled a window open.

"What, the hell was that?" He cried, fanning the air in front of him. "It smells like Dougie after he eats baked beans."

"Oh _thank you_ for that _beautiful_ mage" Rhuben replied sarcastically.

"Jacqui, what the heck were you doing?" Harry asked as he walked to the front of the room as Jacqui pulled the goggles off of her face.

"I was finishing my chemistry project" she replied proudly.

"Which was?" Danny asked.

"Proving to the teacher that I could delay the explosion of unknown chemicals" she replied with a chuckle. "And I delayed it for about…20 seconds."

"Jacqui, you're a moron" Riley said, shaking her head as she coughed.

"You kidding? I'm getting an 'A' because of this!"

* * *

**Rhuben's POV **

The dinner rush was just starting to pick up at the Cascade Cafe when a familiar face stepped through the restaurant's front door. I groaned loudly from where I stood at the entrance to the kitchen. With half the place still empty, there was a good chance the hostess would put Danny and his 'friends' somewhere other than my section. I watched as the woman lead the group down the center isle, and felt my insides twist into knots.

"Keep going, keep going," I muttered.

Nope.

No such luck.

Jesus, it seemed, had it in for me.

As I stood there in mounting horror; Danny Jones and his friends slid into my booth and began pouring over their menus.

"This cannot be happening," I grumbled, turning on my heel and filling a tray with four glasses of water and breadsticks.

"Something wrong, Rhuben?" my boss asked in passing.

I flashed Tom (not Tom Fletcher) a smile. "Nope."

There was absolutely nothing wrong, if you discounted the fact that Satan and his minions were all seated at my table, waiting anxiously for their server to arrive. I silently wondered if there was any way I could spill Danny's drink in his lap without it looking intentional.

Sucking in a huge breath, I plastered a grin to my face and began passing out the water.

"Hi, everybody! Welcome to the Cascade Cafe. My name is Rhuben, and I'll be your server this evening. Can I get you guys something to drink?"

I was pointedly ignoring Danny, who was grinning at me with some wicked gleam in his eye. I wondered momentarily if Satan's eyes always sparkled like that.

"I think I'll have a Coke," a teenage boy with black hair and bright blue eyes said. I knew him that was Cody Ritter; he was in some of my classes. And his girlfriend, Chelsea Nash ordered the same thing. I had no clue that Danny was friends with them.

A girl of about seven or eight was doodling in her kid's menu, but looked up at me with a toothless grin when I got around to her. "Kin I have some juice?" she asked.

I remembered her too; she was Chelsea's sister, Lilly.

"Sure thing, honey. We've got apple, cranberry, and orange."

She looked uncertainly at her mother, who nodded encouragingly. "Kin I git all three?"

Poor kid was stuck in the company of the witch's flying monkeys; the least I could do was give her three kinds of juice to take her mind off her unnoticed misery. "Coming right up."

I steeled myself against Danny and his wicked grin, and smiled politely. "And what can I get for you this evening, sir?"

"I'll have pink lemonade. No ice."

"Sure thing. I'll be right back with those," I said, tucking my book under my arm and making a beeline for the kitchen. A few of the other servers were gathered around the soda machine discussing their customers, and I leaned back against the wall with a sigh.

Melanie, Tom's girlfriend, and the girl who had inevitably gotten me and my sister the jobs here, smiled sympathetically. "Shitty costumers?" she asked.

I wasn't sure 'shitty' was the proper term for describing Danny. "Shitty is a relative term," I grumbled, slowly filling four glasses with their drinks. "The devil himself sits at table forty-three."

A few curious heads popped out of the kitchen to stare at the table in question, and one girl squealed excitedly.

"Danny Jones is at your table!"

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

Like I didn't already know that.

"Yep," I said, shoving straws into the drinks. "Wish me luck."

As I left the kitchen, I heard the girl sigh dreamily. "He's so hot! Rhuben is _so_ lucky!"

"Yeah, that and the fact that you already _have_ a boyfriend, my brother" Allie, another worker there reminded her.

If only they knew what an asstard the guy really was.

Fake smile back in place, I handed everyone their drinks and pulled out my pad of paper. "Is everybody ready to order?"

"Not quite," Danny announced, handing me back the lemonade. "I said no ice."

Ugh.

Idiot.

I apologized and hurried to correct the mistake. When I returned, he was looking rather smug. "You know what? I'm really sorry. I think I want a Sprite instead. Is that too much trouble?"

I could feel my temper brewing, but smiled wider, my grin stretching my face to uncomfortable limits. "Sure, no problem. I'll be right back with that. No ice?" I asked, just for clarification. I wasn't getting him another drink.

"No ice," he agreed.

Wordlessly, I switched the drink yet again, rolling my eyes at Mel and Allie who'd been fawning over Danny earlier. When Danny had been satisfied with his beverage, I attempted to take the family's order yet again.

"I'll have the chicken marsala," Chelsea said, handing me her menu. I caught sight of her ring, the one Cody had promised to her, and nearly fainted. The canary-yellow diamond had to be the size of my head, if not bigger! Okay, maybe I was exaggerating a little bit, but the thing was _huge_. I don't know how Cody could afford it, but rumor had it his parents were pretty loaded.

"Spaghetti sounds good," Cody said, and Chelsea stared at her sister expectantly.

"I want pizza!" she exclaimed, pointing at the picture she'd drawn in my absence.

I grinned down at her. "What kind?"

"Uh…" she twiddled her thumbs, face screwed up in concentration. Finally, after much internal debate, she decided on cheese.

"Good choice," I told her with a wink. The little girl grinned.

I turned to Danny.

"I'll have the rigatoni Alfredo."

I stared at him in awe for a second. It seemed to me that Danny would have been more likely to order human flesh, or some other sort of cannibalistic meat, so when he ordered what I considered to be the girliest item on the menu, I was more than a bit surprised. He stared expectantly at me, and when I snapped out of it, I plastered a smile to my face once again and turned to his parents.

"I'll go put those in," I said cheerfully. "Let me get you guys some new sodas." I pointedly avoided Danny's, since he hadn't even touched it. I should've just replaced his too, because when I came back, he said too much of his ice had melted, and that his soda tasted watered-down. This was a total lie, since I'd just given it to him ten minutes ago, and it took a great deal of self-control not to smack the kid upside the head. I wondered absently if I'd be fired for hitting a customer… or worse.

After fulfilling all of Danny's ridiculous needs, I retreated to the kitchen to wait for their order. The other servers were friendly enough, and I liked Tom.

"So how do you know Danny?" Melanie asked.

"School," I replied, unwilling to elaborate any further. It seemed to me that everybody had known that McFly was now going to my school and were treating them like gods. I mean, they used to do that to Riley and me, but we hated being treated differently. I should have guessed that Danny and them would be different. But Melanie didn't go to my school, so they must have been pretty popular

"Isn't he _so_ hot?"

He so was _not. _

Okay, maybe he _was_ good looking, and had the body of a Greek god, but his personality completely overrode any redeeming physical qualities.

Of which there were many.

"Not at all," I said, shoving half a breadstick into my mouth when Tom wasn't looking. A fly was buzzing around my head, and I swatted it away absently. "Do you think there's any way I could bribe one of the cooks to poison his dinner?" I mused.

The fly that had been buzzing around my head landed on my tie, and I slapped my chest in annoyance. Matt, one of the other servers, happened to walk in at just that moment, and gave me a strange look.

"There was a fly," I murmured, holding the dead insect out for him to see.

And then I was struck with what could arguably be considered the greatest idea I'd ever come up with. I heard the Danny's, Cody's, Chelsea's, and Lilly's order called out, and stared down at the fly in my hand, a sinister smile spreading across my face. Allie saw the look on my face, and her eyes widened in horror.

"You wouldn't!"

"Oh, wouldn't I?"

You have to admit, it was pretty brilliant.

"Payback's a bitch," I said with a grin, and flounced off towards the window to retrieve Danny's order. I snagged the plate of Alfredo and hurried to a remote corner behind the dishwasher and carefully slid the insect inside a piece of tubular pasta. I made sure the bug was well hidden, then set the dish back in the window while I went to retrieve a larger tray to carry all the plates on. After I'd arranged their meals in a neat little circle, I hefted the tray over my shoulder and made my way over to the Jones's table.

"Chicken marsala," I said, handing Chelsea her dinner. "Spaghetti. A cheese pizza," I continued, handing the adorable litter girl her meal. She cooed in excitement, and began pulling a piece free before I'd even set it down. "And rigatoni Alfredo. Enjoy!"

I carried the tray back to the kitchen and threw it on top of a growing pile. Allie and Melanie were staring at me in shock, though the corners of her mouth were twitching up in a resistant smile.

"I can't believe you did that," Allie whispered, as I reached for a glass of water. "You are _so_ evil!"

"Thank you," I grinned, wiping sweat from my brow.

After about ten minutes, when I'd grown sick of listening to Matt and Jeremy quote _Anchorman _and _Superbad, _I decided to go back out and check on the progress of my table's meal.

It was required, after all.

"How is everything?" I asked with a smile.

"Just great," Chelsea praised, taking another bite of her chicken.

Even Danny didn't seem to be able to come up with a legitimate complaint. "What did you say was in this sauce, again?" he asked.

I leaned in so that only he could hear. "Flies."

Two very blue eyes glared up at me in horror, and I smiled triumphantly. He was staring at me in disgust, shoving his food around on his plate to find the dastardly insect, when all of the sudden a loud shriek came from somewhere in the dining room. I momentarily wondered if Danny Jones screamed like a girl, but when I glanced down at him, he was still searching his pasta for the fly.

A few tables over, a woman, probably in her early seventies, was pointing in disgust at something in her pasta. I strained my eyes, and felt my stomach lurch when I realized she had also ordered the rigatoni Alfredo.

"There's no way…" I muttered in horror, biting my nail nervously. Cody, Chelsea, and Lilly didn't seem to notice my sudden mood swing, but Danny did. He had combed through his entire dinner and hadn't found a single insect. He was grinning up at me, victory written all over his grungy face.

"You don't say. Because this is _fabulous_."

On any other occasion, I would've laughed at him for using such a flamboyantly happy word, but my palms were starting to sweat, and my stomach was doing flip-flops like a kid on a trampoline.

"Excuse me," I mumbled, hurrying into the back.

A few of the waiters were chatting idly about the screaming woman, while their server frantically tried to tell the cook to make the dish over again.

"What happened?" I asked, flustered.

"Oh, some old bird found a fly in her alfredo. She's threatening to write an official complaint to corporate."

My voice sounded very small when I answered. "Oh." I couldn't really think of anything else to say. I was going to be in _so_ much trouble.

Allie pulled me aside, whispering under her breath, "Don't tell Tom it was your fault. You'll get fired, and we need all the help we can get."

I nodded silently, trying to slow my erratic heartbeat.

I returned to my table five minutes later with new sodas and their check. As they were leaving, Danny leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Karma's a bitch, isn't it?"

If I hadn't been working, I would've punched him in the face right there. Since Tom had his eye on me, I just smiled graciously and nodded.

"Just wait until next time," I said cryptically.

My manager would never know what I was referring to.

"Have a nice evening, folks."

* * *

**A/N: Cody, Chelsea, and Lilly aren't major characters I only needed them there for this chapter. Oh, and check out our new stories 'A Walk in the Sun' and 'I've Got You'.**


	16. Chapter 15: Homecoming Pt1

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is shorter than the others, guys. But the ones after this are going to be long again.**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen – Homecoming Pt.1**

"One detention down" Dougie said as he and Riley walked out of the chemistry room.

"Yeah, a month of them to go" Riley agreed rolling her eyes. She reached out and shoved his shoulder. "You're lucky I took the blame for you." Her eyes narrowed when Channing Gold, one of the football players at her school came up to her.

"Hey Riles do you want to-"

"Sorry." Riley interrupted and walked by him. Dougie laughed and hurried after her. "What's so funny?"

"The look on the guys' face when you turned him down." He replied. "What, aren't you going to homecoming?"

"Oh, I am, but I'm the live entertainment and its kind of hard to dance with a date if you're the one that is playing the music for others to dance to." She replied.

"True."

"Are you going with anyone?" Riley asked after a minute of silence.

"Yeah. Yeah, um, this girl named Kayla asked me." Dougie replied and looked at his feet.

"Yeah she's nice; she's in most of my classes." Riley replied and shrugged into her backpack. "Anyway, do you want to do homework in my dorm room. "It's like, the only place where Gen and Jacqui are quiet, if they come."

"Yeah, sounds cool."

**

* * *

**

-Two Weeks Later-

"Hey, are you guys ready to pick up the girls?" Danny asked as he fixed his bow tie and turned to his friends, who were dressed in the same semi-casual tuxedos as he was.

"Yeah, just don't forget the corsage" Harry said and tossed the plastic box with the flower into it.

"So, Danny, how does it feel to know that you're _not_ going with Rhuben?" Tom asked teasingly. Danny glared at him before answering.

"Well, looking at her all night long is enough, even though I can't have her as my date" Danny replied,

"Just don't let your date know that" Dougie laughed in reply. "Anyway, let's get going, we want to get to dinner before we lose our dinner reservations."

"Anxious to meet Kayla?" Tom asked and then grinned. "Or are you like Danny and you just want to look at Riley all night long."

"First off, you suck, you know that right?" Dougie asked and then continued as Harry laughed. "And Riley is _only my friend. _I'm _friends_ with her, _friends_ with Rhuben, _friends _with Gen, _friends_ with Jacqui, and _friends_ with Kayla. We're all _friends_! _THAT'S IT!"_

"Sure, if you want to believe that, keep saying it!" Harry said and pulled the dorm room door open. "So, let's go!"

Clutching their corsages, the guys left the dorm room and went to Gen's and Jacqui's dorm room, where they agreed that they would meet the girls there and then go to dinner. As they stepped into the lobby of the boys' dorm, Riley and Rhuben appeared in their sights.

"Hey guys, what are you doing here?" Rhuben asked them. But McFly didn't reply. They were staring at Riley and Rhuben in shock and surprise.

"What?" Rhuben asked, taking a small step backwards.

Her hair was out of its usual ponytail and fell past her shoulders. She was wearing a spaghetti strapped purple dress that went down to her knees. On her feet were 2 inch black high heels. She had a small silver bracelet on her right wrist, a silver necklace around her neck, and silver studs in her ears. She was wearing a little bit of make up, and had lip gloss on her lips.

"Do we look bad or something?" Riley asked quietly.

She had her hair out of its ponytail, but her strand of red hair still fell in her face. She was wearing a strapless black and red dress that went down to her knees. White knee high boots were on her feet. On her left wrist was a gold bracelet, a gold bracelet was around her neck, and she had gold earring studs in her ears. She was wearing a little bit of make up and had on lip gloss.

"No, you two look very…wow" Danny replied.

"Go over your adjectives" Riley supplied. "Where are you guys going?"

"Oh, we're going to get out dates and go to dinner before we go to the dance." Harry replied and then cocked his head to the side. "Where are you guys going?"

"Sound Check" Rhuben replied and rolled her eyes. "Tedious job, but you know how it is. See you guys later, have fun tonight."

"Later" Tom called cheerfully and then turned to Danny and Dougie. "You can close your mouths now; I think my shoes are being filled with your drool."

"Shut up!" Dougie snapped in reply.


	17. Chapter 16: Homecoming Pt2

**A/N: This story is going through the whole school year, that includes holidays (thanksgiving, Christmas, April fools, Easter, and the breaks the school gets.) and through birthdays. So this is going to be a long fic, because of that, I'm contemplating weather or not to make a sequel.**

**A/N 2: Oh, Jacqui, the picture of the dress won't come up, so I need you to describe it to me in a PM or something, and then I'll edit the chapter to put it in.**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen – Homecoming Pt.2**

**-Jacqui's POV-**

The guys arrived at Gen's and my dorm and knocked on the door. Tom's, Harry's, Dougie's, and Danny's mouths dropped open when Max opened the door.

Gen had a black dress that can be described in one way, divine. It went over one shoulder and was one of those dresses that poofed out at the bottom. She was wearing black high-heels to match it. .

Kayla had a simple shiny aqua tube dress that was loose enough so she didn't look quite like a stick, but not so loose that she would have to hold it up. That was a great thing about it; she didn't have to worry about a wardrobe malfunction in front of everyone.

Madison had a silver dress that fell to just below her knees very loosely and had a tie-up back. They tied it so tight that we were afraid she wouldn't be able to breathe, but by the time the boys arrived for pictures, we had realized it had loosened on it's own to the perfect tightness.

And me, I was wearing a it's strapless and floor length green dress that matched my eyes. It has a thick ribbon of dark green at the top and bottom of it and is pale green for the rest. it's silky and form fitting. But not slutty, I'm not like some of the girls that purposely dress like sluts to get a lot of attention.

"You look… wow!" Harry said approaching me. He just took in me for a moment, and then smiled and handed me my corsage

"Thanks" I replied cheerfully. "You look pretty wow yourself."

"Did you guys purposely make your ties match our dresses?" Gen asked Tom who gave a secret smile.

"That may be a possibility."

We all lined up for pictures. First we had guys in height order, which had us girls standing Me, Kayla, Gen, then Madison, so it wasn't too weird. When we tried to get pictures with girls in height order, the guys looked too jumbled. Then we did pictures with just the girls. And then the guys. They were kind of goofy in their pictures, but it was funny anyway.

Finally we did couple pictures.

So, at five to six, we all crawled into the limo and rode to the plaza.

"Hello," the owner said as we all came in.

"Fletcher, please" Tom said politely as we waited in the crowded lobby.

"Yes, right this way please" the owner said.

We were shown our table and given menus. It wasn't more than a minute before I put my menu down, her eyes wide. Most of the dishes cost more than I spend on food for three days.

"Are you guys really going to be able to pay for this?" I asked.

"Absolutely," Danny replied.

Harry looked at us over the top of his menu as if to say, 'act like adults.' I smiled and folded my menu, having decided on a shrimp platter.

When the waiter came for our drink order, he almost offered us alcohol, before he noticed that none of us looked older than fifteen, although Tom, Harry, and Danny are 17.

We had a nice, quiet, conversation until our food came. Poor Gen kept running out of water because she didn't drink much soda and wasn't in the mood for anything else. We didn't talk as much as we ate. When the bill came, Tom, Harry, Danny, and Dougie easily split it.

Finally, we left the Plaza and made our way to the school for the dance.

* * *

**-Normal POV-**

"Hey guys!" Riley greeted as she and Rhuben rushed over to their friends. "You all look great."

"Thanks, so do you" Gen said and she and Jacqui hugged both of them. "Those dresses are smoking.

"Thanks" Rhuben replied shyly.

"You know, I just thought of something, how are you guys going to perform if you're wearing high heels and dresses?" Danny asked them.

"We're wearing shorts under our dresses so we can still do flips and stuff" Riley replied. "And it's also called, taking off your heels."

"She has a good point" Madison said and laughed lightly.

"Oh, you haven't met our brothers have you?" Rhuben asked and then turned and whistled. In a matter of seconds, three boys pushed through the crowded dance floor. "These are our brothers Patrick, Noah, and Sydney. The rest of the DarkElements."

"Hi" Sydney said cheerfully, giving a small wave.

"You guys look cute" Kayla cooed. The three boys were wearing tuxes too, even though they weren't old enough for homecoming.

"Thank you" Patrick and Noah said in unison.

"We should be getting to the stage" Sydney said to his siblings.

"Oh, right. Have fun guys" Rhuben said and the five went to get on the stage. Riley picked up her electric guitar and struck a chord.

"How'd everybody doing tonight?" she called and the audience clapped and cheered.

"Great, but its going to get better." Rhuben said with a small laugh as she moved to the center microphone. "You all should recognize our song. It's off of our first album and its called 'Meant to Live' have fun guys."

Everybody cheered and began dancing. It was a huge group of people dancing together. Dougie, Kayla, Tom, Gen, Danny, Madison, Harry, and Jacqui danced as the Jacksons rocked out onstage.

Gen looked over at Dougie, and burst out laughing when she saw that he obviously didn't like dancing that much because he looked very stiff.

Harry took Jacqui's hand and spun her a few times before dipping her. It was actually a lot of fun and good way to start off the dance for her. And an excellent way to get a lot of envious looks because a lot of girls didn't have guys who could do that with them… or guys, period.

Actually, she laughed a little by the little dance, and was surprised when Harry asked her if she wanted to Tango. Hell yeah, she wanted to. It was very rare that a girl come across a guy who can Tango.

And it sounded like fun.

So, they tangoed, even though it was not a Tango song at all. He dipped and spun her like an expert. Gen, Madison, and Kayla gave her envious looks, but they were having fun anyway. And it seemed like Danny, Tom, and Dougie were having a great time too.

The dance went by so fast because they were having a lot of fun. Soon the Jacksons were on the last song of the night and were contemplating on weather they should perform it themselves or to let the dancers listen to a CD of the song.

"So what do you think guys?" Riley asked the audience and burst out laughing as there were mixed answers.

"Sorry, I can't hear you." Sydney said as he cupped his hand over his ear, his small voice being magnified by his head mic.

They listened to the shouts for a second and then nodded in agreement.

"All right, we're playing our last song!" Noah said and laughed at the sound of the playful boos that came from the audience.

"Just kidding." Rhuben chuckled. "This is the last song of the night. It's called 'You and Me' by Lifehouse. So boys take your date, or your girlfriend, or your cousin if you were stuck bringing them, and bring them onto the dance floor. But make sure the chaperones can see your hands, cough, Danny Jones, cough." She laughed and the five of them took hands and bowed as the music started playing.

"Great job guys" Riley said and ran her fingers through her brothers' hair.

"Thanks Ri-Ri" Patrick said cheerfully.

"Why don't you two go and dance, you deserve it." Noah said and smiled. "We're going to go back to our dorm."

"Kay, see you guys later." Rhuben said and kissed their foreheads. Sydney waved and the three of them pushed their way out of the door. Riley and Rhuben walked to the drink table and greeted their friends.

"You guys were awesome" Madison said cheerfully.

"When are we not?" Riley asked teasingly and all of them laughed.

"Gen, do you want to dance?" Tom asked. Gen nodded and took his hand, following him onto the dance floor. Harry and Jacqui followed them.

"Danny, it's ok if you want to dance with Rhuben" Madison said to him a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"No, go ahead, I want to take some pictures of Gen and Jacqui anyway" Rhuben said and went to get her camera from a chaperone. Danny took Madison's hand and led her onto the dance floor.

"Kayla, do you want to dance?" Channing Gold asked as he walked up to her. Kayla looked at Dougie, who gave a small smile and nodded.

"Sure" Kayla took his hand and went onto the dance floor.

"So, how'd you enjoy the dance?" Riley asked Dougie as she grabbed a coca-cola can from the table.

"It was fine, I guess" Dougie shrugged as he put his hands into his pockets. "I'm not that great of a dancer though."

"You can't be that bad of a slow dancer though." Riley said and cocked her head towards the dance floor. "D'you wanna? Just as friends though."

"Uh, sure" Dougie replied and walked onto the dance floor. Riley placed her hands on his shoulders, but wouldn't look him in the eye as Dougie placed his hand on her waist and they gently swayed to the music. "Yeah, just as friends" he muttered to himself.

* * *

**A/N 3: Since this story is going thorugh the whole year, you can give requests of what you want to see in the story, that pretains to school.**


	18. Chapter 17: Sports, Sports, Sports

****

Chapter Seventeen – Sports, Sports, and More Sports

"Guys! Guys!" Gen shouted as she ran into the sophomore lounge area of the school. Even though they weren't sophomores, Harry, Danny, and Tom were sitting with Dougie, Riley, Rhuben, and Jacqui, who were working on their homework.

"What's up?" Tom asked giving her a warm smile, which she returned before sitting down on Riley's lap. Riley gave a small laugh and pushed her onto the floor.

"Guess what national holiday is coming up" she said excitedly.

"My birthday" Dougie declared.

"Dougie, birthdays aren't holidays" Harry pointed out as he slapped him on the back of the head.

"A holiday is when you celebrate something once every year. And my birthday is celebrated once a year, so my birthday is a holiday" Dougie defended to himself.

"Back to the subject at hand, _real_ holidays." Gen said and stuck her tongue out at Dougie, who stuck his tongue out too. "Halloween is coming up, and I propose that we go trick or treating at the bigger houses this year."

"You _still_ go trick or treating?" Tom asked, looking at the four girls in shock.

"He_llo_?" Rhuben said, waving a hand. "It's _free candy_ that you can eat _all year_. What part of that don't you get? Hell yeah, we go trick or treating."

"That and we have to take our brothers." Riley replied and then made a face. "Is it just me or is it that we have to do everything because Julius is in Senior year and has _work to do_?"

"I was thinking the same thing," Riley nodded and turned to Harry and Danny. "So, word on the street is that you guys have games today."

"Yeah, our football team is going against some school called Highland." Harry said and grinned in anticipation. "You guys are coming aren't you?"

"Duh, it's after Danny's soccer game, and since Julius is playing, we're going to be watching anyway." Rhuben said as she stood up and grabbed her backpack. "I'll see you guys later, I have to get to practice."

"What sport do you do?" Tom asked her.

"Riley and I are on the Cross Country team, but since she still has detention, she won't be going anytime soon." Rhuben smirked and gave her sister a high-five as she left the lounge area.

"Do you _have_ to do sports at this school?" Dougie asked, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

"Yes and No" Riley replied. "Yes because you have to do at least two sports so you have credit to graduate. But no, if you find something else to do, then that will count as your sports requirement. I'm already on the cross country and soccer team, so it wouldn't matter to me.

"What sports do you do?" Tom asked Gen.

"Girls lacrosse, field hockey, and swimming." She replied.

"And during the fall I march band flags and I swim during the winter." Jacqui said as she grabbed a handful of the popcorn that was sitting on Riley's lap. "Speaking of which, I have to go and practice with the band before the games start."

"So, Tom, what do you think you're going to do?" Danny asked him.

"I don't know, I might do the school play or something, I'm not great at sports" Tom admitted as he shrugged and continued to read from his History book.

"And it shows too" Dougie said and smiled sweetly.

"Coming form the person who ditches PE all the time" Gen said and stuck her tongue out at Dougie, who stuck his tongue out at her first.

"Seriously, you have to find something that you'll do for a sport, and unfortunately, detention doesn't count as a after school activity." Riley said and pulled her backpack from the floor. "Later guys, I'll see you at the soccer game. Gen, try to make signs like we did last time."

"Got it" Gen replied and waited until Riley walked away before turning to Dougie.

"What?" he asked when he noticed that Tom, Danny, Gen, and Harry were staring at him expectantly.

"So, when did you start to fancy Riley?" Harry asked as casually as possible.

"Excuse me?" Dougie asked, his eyes widening.

"Don't deny it!" Danny declared, sticking his finger in Dougie's face. He quickly pulled his arm back as Dougie tried to bite him. "We saw you two slow dancing at Homecoming."

"That was _last_ weekend, and it took you this long to ask me about this?" Dougie asked.

"Are you admitting it?" Tom asked, raising his eyebrows in question.

"No, I'm not admitting anything because it's not true. Seriously guys, you can have friends who just happen to be girls. I'll see you at the soccer game." Scowling, Dougie grabbed his backpack and his guitar case and went back to his dorm room.

"Yeah, we have to go too" Harry said and he and Danny stood up. "We'll see you later."

"See ya, mates" Tom replied and Gen waved goodbye. "So, Riley said something about making signs?"

"Yeah, she, Rhuben, her brothers, Jacqui, and I make signs for some of the players. And unfortunately for me, today I'm stuck doing it myself." Gen sighed as she brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Need help?" Tom offered.

"That would be great, Mr. Fletcher," Gen grinned cheerfully. "I'm going to go to the school store and get some supplies and I'll meet you back at the lobby to the gym and we can work on the posters."

"Great, it's a date" Tom said and winked at her before grabbing his stuff and leaving the lounge area too.

"Go me. Go me." Gen sang to herself, smiling happily.

* * *

"GO JULIUS!" Patrick, Noah, and Sydney cheered loudly, waving pom-poms in the air.

"GO DANNY!" Gen shouted through a microphone.

Danny looked up from the field and gave his friends a bright smile before concentrating on the game again. Gen lowered the sign onto her lap and looked around at all of her friends who were looking like they were enjoying themselves, even Dougie, who had still insisted to bring his acoustic guitar to play during halftime. Needless to say, that it got a lot of attention from the girls that were sitting in their section of the bleachers, but Dougie acted like he didn't care what they thought what so ever.

"So, when are you guys going to perform at school?" Jacqui asked Harry as Riley and Rhuben led her brothers to the concession stand to get them something to eat.

"I'm not sure," Harry replied and scratched his neck. "I mean, we're trying to figure out what we would like to do, to play here. Like for a fund raiser or something, your school doesn't really have many opportunities to play."

"You should do it anyway; our school is all about academics, creativity, and sports." Jacqui declared. Harry laughed and smiled warmly at her.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind" He replied and turned away to answer a question that Tom had asked, missing Jacqui's cheeks turning red.

"Mrs. Jacqui Judd, has a nice ring to it" Gen teased and laughed as Jacqui hit her on the shoulder and then pulled her IPod out of her pocket and clicked toAvril Lavigne and started to sing 'Girlfriend' under her breath.

"Is that Avril?" Tom asked and Dougie and Harry placed their hands over their faces as Jacqui nodded enthusiastically. "Ooh, let me listen!" he declared and grabbed one of the ear buds, putting it into his ear.

"Don't ask" Dougie instructed when Rhuben sat down next to him a questioning look on her face.

"Hey guys" Danny greeted as he walked up the bleachers, a towel around his neck.

"How come you're not down there?" Gen asked, pointing to the bench where the rest of the soccer players were sitting. Danny looked over at them and shrugged.

"I'd rather sit with my friends" he replied. "So, what's been going on? How do you think the game is going?"

"You're really talented" Sydney said as he happily licked the lollypop that was in his hand.

"Thanks" Danny said and beamed. "What about you guys?" he asked the others, but was looking directly at Rhuben.

"Sorry, I was watching Julius" she said with a shrug and a sinister smirk.

"Burned!" Riley cried as she gave her sister a high-five.

"Denied!" Tom added and giggled like a little girl.

"That's ok Danny, I thought you were really good" Madison said as she sat down next to Sydney on the bleachers. "The best actually."

Rhuben looked at her friends with a raised eyebrow, and they returned the look with a blank stare. They turned back to staring at Madison and Danny as they talked about how much fun they had at the dance.

"Jones, come on!" the coach called. Danny stood up and looked at the field, seeing everybody was already heading back to their positions.

"Coming!" he shouted back and then turned to Madison. "I know this is such short notice, but I was wondering if you wanted to hang out after the game. Get some ice cream or something."

"That sounds fun" Madison said and beamed. If it was possible, her smile grew wider as he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek before hurrying back onto the soccer field.

"Oooh" Gen and Jacqui teased.

"Shut up!" Madison snapped back, her face going beet red.

* * *

"Oooh" Riley winced and closed her eyes as Harry got tackled into the ground and a whistle blew shrilly. "_That's _got to hurt."

"Not as much as when we tackle him when we play" Dougie replied as he crossed his arms over his chest. "He'll be fine."

"Yeah, but when you guys play, you don't have 200 pound guys falling on top of you" Rhuben pointed out and then squeezed his bicep. "I doubt you're even 150."

"Everybody shut up; I'm trying to watch the game!" Jacqui snapped.

"Don't you mean watching Harry?" Tom asked teasingly.

"You mean, Hazard" Gen corrected him and continued when Danny, Tom, and Dougie gave her confused looks. "As if he's hazardous to her health."

"And emotions" Rhuben muttered and shook her head. "Seriously Jay, you just need to ask him out, or you're going to explode from not doing it."

"I'm burning through the skies, yeah, two hundred degrees that's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit." Danny sang and they burst out laughing.

"That's not what she meant" Riley added when she saw the smile forming on Jacqui's face.

"Is that all girls ever talk about?" Tom asked. "Their hair, make-up, and boys?"

"No, we talk about how stupid guys are and how much better girls are." Rhuben replied and smirked teasingly. "I mean, its been scientifically proven that we can handle more pain."

"You're kidding right?" Dougie snorted.

"Who's the one that gives birth?" Riley shot back and laughed at the disgusted look on Dougie's face. "That's what I thought."

"Oh, so you were thinking of having children with Dougie?" Danny asked her.

"Just for that, you're going to get a _really_ bad wedgie later" Dougie said to him and Danny laughed in reply and high-fived Tom.

"HEADS UP!" Patrick suddenly shouted and he, Noah, and Sydney bent forward, holding their hands over their heads.

"Why-"Tom was cut off as he was hit in the face with a football. "Ow!" he cried, holding onto his nose.

"Sorry, mate!" Harry called and Jacqui threw him the football.

"Oh, he's _really_ going to be sorry" Tom muttered, rubbing his sore face.


	19. Chapter 18: Halloween

**A/N: Sorry this really has nothing to do with Halloween, I just wanted to say what costumes that everybody would be wearing. In the next few chapters, I skipped to December so I can explain what they do during Christmas.**

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen – Halloween**

"So, are you guys going trick or treating with us tonight, or no?" Rhuben asked Danny after their chemistry class. It was a Friday so their 5th and 7th period classes were switched so they had chemistry last that day.

"Yeah, it totally sounds like fun." Danny replied happily. "And that means free candy, but I just have to make sure that Dougie doesn't go into a sugary coma." Rhuben laughed and nodded in agreement, knowing that her brothers were going to be the same way. "Wait, can I bring Madison along?"

Danny noticed that Rhuben's smile faltered slightly, but didn't say anything as he waited for her answer. "Yeah, the more the merrier." She cleared her throat and changed the subject slightly. "So, how are you two getting along? You've been dating for, what, two and a half weeks?"

"Yeah, it's really cool." Danny replied as a soft smile tugged at his lips. "I was thinking of getting her something, like maybe one of those stupid plastic rings you get out of the vending machine type things at movie theatres."

"That'll be cool." Rhuben replied and nodded, she quickly looked down at her watch. "Look at the time, I have to go get my brothers and meet up with Riley so we can go home and tell dad where we're going to be. Meet up with Jacqui and Gen and you all can come to our house at like, seven-ish. So I'll see you later, Danny. See ya!"

With that, Rhuben pretty much sprinted away from Danny, going off down the hallway. Danny shook his head and walked to his dorm.

* * *

"I'll get it!" Sydney shouted as he padded towards the front door of his house as the doorbell rang repeatedly.

"It must be, Jacqui." Riley commented as she used her eyeliner to draw a little swirl next to her right eye. "She's the only one who rings the doorbell so many goddamn times."

"Hi Jacqui, Gen, Danny, Tom, Harry, Dougie, and some girl I don't know." Sydney said cheerfully as he pulled open the front door and stepped back. "Come in."

"Hey, Syd, how are you?" Gen asked, stooping down and giving him a hug.

"I'm good" Sydney giggled in reply. "Guys, everybody's here, can we go now?" Sydney asked

"You could have at least waited until we grabbed the candy bags before you started to complain." Noah said as he, Patrick, and Rhuben walked out of the kitchen, holding big bags in their hands. "You're lucky we even got one for you."

"Sorry." Sydney apologized and grabbed the bag.

"Are you guys doing a themed costume?" Tom asked as he lifted the eye patch to his pirate costume, to see them better.

"Yeah," Patrick replied and beamed. "We're the characters from _Aladdin_. Noah and I are lamp sellers, Sydney is Abu, Riley is Jafar, and Rhuben is Jasmine."

"And that's only because I was Ariel from the little mermaid last year." Riley said sarcastically.

"Ha, I'd like to see that" Dougie laughed and then looked at his feet when the others looked at him in amusement.

"Wait, let me guess what you're supposed to be" Rhuben said to him and cocked her head to the side in thought. "You're Marty McFly."

"Yeah, it was Tom's idea." Dougie muttered in reply. "Can we go now?"

"Sure, let me just get the key" Riley said and went into the den, grabbing the spare key from the hook and grabbed her skateboard that was by the front door. "Lucky for us, dad went out for the night so we really don't have a curfew."

"Yeah, but what's unlucky is the fact that he went to a bar." Patrick muttered and cried out in pain when Noah elbowed him in the side.

"I like your angel outfit Gen, it goes really well with Jacqui's devil costume." Sydney said as he took Gen's free hand and skipped along beside her.

"Could you be any more original with your costumes though?" Patrick asked Danny and Harry, who were dressed respectively as dead soccer and football players.

"Hey, at least we _look_ scary" Danny pointed out and watched as Riley skated ahead of them, to jump over a bench, but the board got caught on the arm rest and she went falling to the ground.

"Don't worry, she'll be dead in a second." Rhuben pointed out.

"Yeah, just like last year." Noah added with a laugh.

"What happened, last year?" Madison asked as she took Danny's hand in hers intertwined their fingers.

"Ri-Ri went skateboarding before school and fell so much that people thought that her blood was fake and she came as a dead skateboarder." Patrick replied with a laugh. "Lucky for her the principal was out sick."

"Yeah, luck for me" Riley winced, getting off of the ground. "Where'd my skateboard go?"

"Are you ok, Rhu, you're kind of quiet" Tom said and placed a hand on Rhuben's shoulder, causing her to jump. "Sorry."

"No worries." She replied. "I'm just thinking."

"About what?" Noah asked her as he stooped down and picked up Riley's skateboard, handing it to her.

"Just stuff" she replied, shrugging and then narrowed her eyes and turned on her flashlight, pointing it at Jacqui's pillow case. "Jacqui, let me see your bag!" she barked.

"Why?" Jacqui asked suspiciously, pulling it away from her outstretched hand. Dougie, who was on her other side, grabbed the bag and tossed it to Rhuben. "Thanks a lot, Mr. Squint Eyes."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dougie demanded.

"Whenever you're laughing hysterically, your eyes get really narrow, like, squinty like." Gen replied. "Now, what's up with Jacqui's pillow case?"

"Hey, you started without us!" Sydney cried as he looked into Jacqui's pillow case. "_And _you got three Hershey Bars!"

"You know the rules" Riley said and grinned as Patrick and Noah cracked their knuckles. "Do you want the 20 second head start, or do you think you won't be able to make it down the street fast enough?"

"What do you mean?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, what are you going to do to her?" Harry asked as Jacqui took off running.

"Don't worry Harry, we're not going to damage your girlfriend much." Patrick replied and grinned evilly.

"3…2…1" Ruben counted down and Patrick, Noah, and Sydney took off after Jacqui. Riley and Rhuben were a couple of steps behind them, but since they were taller, they easily outdistanced their brothers and tackled Jacqui to the ground.

"Ooh, do they do that every time someone trick or treats early?" Madison asked, gripping Danny's hand tighter.

"Only if it's someone they know really well." Gen replied. "Don't worry; you don't have to worry about getting tackled anytime soon."

"Yeah, all you have to worry about is getting tickled." Danny replied and reached towards her waist, Madison took a step back.

"You wouldn't dare" she said and giggled as Danny grinned mischievously and kissed her cheek.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" he replied and Madison leaped away from him, giggling like crazy as he chased her down the street.

"Is that annoying to anyone else?" Gen asked.

"Yeah." Tom, Harry, and Dougie replied in unison.

"It seriously wouldn't surprise me if Danny was just using her to get Rhuben jealous." Tom added as an after thought as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Either that or she's going to be another statistic" Harry added.

"What do you mean?" Gen asked, looking at the three of them.

"Danny is the type of guy who dates girls, gets bored of them, and then dumps them ,going for someone else." Dougie explained.

"Wow, I hope that Rhu doesn't fall for him then." Gen replied.

"Why's that?" Dougie asked curiously.

"Don't tell anyone I told you, but its because she's afraid of being dumped or rejected. She and Riley have had their fair share of jerks for boyfriends." Gen replied and sighed shaking her head. "It's a shame too, they won't let me set them up with anyone."

"Can we please just get some candy and _stop_ talking about relationships?" Dougie asked in annoyance.

"Coming from the guy who fancies Riley" Harry laughed.

"SHUT UP!" Dougie shouted, whipping his bag at Harry's head.

* * *

"Wow, what an overkill" Rhuben said cheerfully as she rooted through her bag of candy.

"Sydney, do you need help with your bag?" Madison asked Sydney, who was busy dragging his bag behind him.

"No" he snapped. Normally, he wouldn't be mean to anyone, but he didn't like the fact that Madison was dating Danny, when he knew that Danny liked his sister. So he decided not to be nice to her.

"Ok then" she replied and bowed her head.

"Oh no" Rhuben muttered as they neared the Jacksons' house.

"What's wrong?" Danny asked her.

"Dad's home early, that's not good" Patrick whispered to Noah.

"Uh, nothing's wrong we just have to go. We remembered there's something that we have to do." Riley replied. "You don't mind going back to the dorm's early do ya? Didn't think so, see ya!" Riley grabbed her siblings bags and they ran up the street and into their house.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked in confusion.

"I have no clue" Jacqui lied, biting her thumbnail.

"No clue what so ever" Gen reiterated, looking nervous.

"Ok" Tom said slowly. "Let's go back to the school and compare the candy that we got."

"Good idea" Dougie agreed, skipping ahead of the others.

"He's on a sugar high isn't he?" Danny asked.

* * *

"Ok, it looks like Dad isn't down here, so all we have to do is hide this candy and-" Riley was cut off as the light in the foyer turned on and the Jacksons' father slowly walked down the stairs towards them. From the smell of his breath, they could tell that he was drunk.

"Get in a line" he said and the Jacksons immediately stood in a line from oldest to youngest. He took off of his belt and slapped it in his hands a few times. "Who should I punish for this? I shouldn't hit the oldest one, oh no, she won't give me the satisfaction of a response. What about Rhuben? No, she'll just fight back. Patrick and Noah will help each other, so I guess my only choice is to get the youngest one." Robert said and shoved Sydney onto his hands and knees.

Sydney's body shook as he started to cry. The others watched as Robert placed a foot on Sydney's legs and raised his belt in the air. He brought it down, the belt slicing through the air.

Riley winced in pain as she pulled her arm down, ripping the belt that had wrapped around her arm, out of her father's hands.

"Don't you _dare_ hit him" she snarled through gritted teeth. Robert slapped her across the face and spit on her before going into the kitchen, probably to drink more.

"C'mon, let's go to bed" Rhuben said gently as Riley wiped her father's saliva off of her cheek.

"You're not going to leave us alone are you?" Sydney asked, his eyes wide.

"How about this, we'll sleep in Julius' room, so he can stay with us when he gets home." Rhuben said gently and lifted Sydney into her arms.

"Ok" he whispered. "I love you Ri-Ri, thank you" he said to her.

"Love you too" she muttered in reply, her eyes blazing with anger…


	20. Chapter 19: Christmas Plans

**Chapter Nineteen – Christmas Plans**

McFly and the DarkElements had to miss a few weeks of school in between Halloween and Christmas because they went back to London to perform on shows such as the Ministry of Mayhem, Popworld, and Top of the Pops. The DarkElements never knew that they were famous in the UK until they reached their destination and were really happy to know that they had as many fans there as they do back in Australia.

They were back at Lakeview and were discussing their Christmas plans, or for the Jackson, their lack of Christmas plans.

"So, you _seriously_ have nothing to do on Christmas?" Tom asked as he pushed Sydney back and forth on the tire swing in front of the Jacksons' house. They stayed there on the weekends because their father didn't allow them to stay at the dorms at school when he could keep an eye on them. Thankfully their father had a meeting to go to, so Jacqui, en, Harry, Tom, Danny and Dougie had decided to go over to the Jacksons' house to hang out.

"Yep, nothing. No parties or anything like that. And then he's leaving us here while he goes on some sort of trip." Rhuben sighed as she grabbed a wrench from the toolbox that was by her feet. "Probably another one of his girlfriends." She bent over her family's mini van and looked it over before turning to Danny and giving a sugary sweet smile. "Kind of reminds me of you."

"Sorry, I already have a girlfriend" Danny replied and smiled. "And we have a fine relationship going, not like you would know how one is."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Rhuben demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

"_Anyway_," Gen said, rolling her eyes. "Why don't you come with me to Cana-"

"No!" Patrick and Noah, who were playing cards cried in unison. They frowned when they saw the hurt look on Gen's face.

"Sorry Gen."Riley apologized. "But we've been to Canada a lot and we don't want to go to a place that's cold, and it's also the fact that we've been there before."

"Well, then how about you guys come home with us" Tom suggested as he grabbed onto the side of the swing, causing Sydney to stop swinging and looked up at him.

"What do you mean?" Rhuben asked, wiping her oily hands off onto a dirty rag that was sitting next to the tool box.

"We talked it over with our parents, and they said they wouldn't mind if you guys came home with us for Christmas." Harry replied. "So we thought it was a good idea if Tom took Sydney home with him, I took Patrick and Noah home with me, and Dougie brought Riley and Rhuben with him."

"Yeah, I'm already bringing Madison home with me; I doubt my mom would like it if I brought three girls home." Danny replied.

"Who says we'd even want to go with you?" Rhuben demanded, glaring at Danny, who quickly became quiet.

"So, do you think your dad will go for our idea?" Dougie asked, looking up and squinting through the glare of the sun as he pulled grass from the ground.

"He definitely, wouldn't want us to stay here 'complaining about everything" Patrick said as he put 'complaining' in air quotes.

"Your dad must really not like having you guys around all the time." Harry said sympathetically.

"Tell me about it" Rhuben agreed.

"Hey!" Jacqui cried, sitting up.

"I thought you were asleep" Harry commented as he looked at her. Jacqui rubbed her eyes and blinked rapidly.

"I was, but now I'm thirsty" She said and looked at Riley expectantly. She shook her head as she stood up from the ground, brushing dirt off of her black shorts.

"Fine, come in" She said and went into the house. "Just make sure you don't make a mess, _Tom_." She said pointedly.

"Why is it that you think I'm going to make a mess?" Tom asked a she followed her inside.

"It's either going to be you that makes the mess, or you're going to make someone else make the mess, and still, you're going to be to blame" Gen teased and everybody else went inside.

"You coming, Rhu-Rhu?" Noah asked, stopping in the doorway.

"I'll be there in a minute, I just want to finish working on the carburetor" Rhuben replied as she scanned the engine of the mini van.

"Ok" Noah replied and went inside. Danny quietly stood up and walked up to the mini van, watching as Rhuben tightened some things and tossed different tools into the tool box, wiping her fingers.

"What?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"Why do you hate Madison so much?" he asked, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets. Rhuben looked at him out of the corner of her eye and scoffed.

"I'm not the only one who doesn't like her." She replied.

"Yeah, but you're the only one who openly hates her," Danny replied.

"That's where you're wrong." Rhuben replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "Sydney hates her too."

"Yeah, but he's not jealous of her" Danny replied. Rhuben started laughing and leaned back against the car for support. She laughed harder at the annoyed look on Danny's face.

"You think I'm jealous of her?" Rhuben demanded, finally catching her breath. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"No, I know that you want me as much as she does." Danny replied calmly, taking a step forward, so their hips were almost touching. "And do you want to know how I know that?"

"Enlighten me" Rhuben replied sarcastically. Raising an eyebrow, Danny leaned in close to her. Rhuben felt my face grow hot once she noticed how blue his eyes were. He leaned in closer and she felt her face grow warmer.

His mouth was inches from hers.

He leaned in closer and moved his mouth to her ear.

"Because I can make you squirm" he whispered in her ear.

Making a face, Rhuben pushed him away from her and went into the house.

Danny chuckled and sauntered after her.


	21. Chapter 20: Christmas at the Poynters

**A/N: Just so you know, this chapter is kind of rushed, but its still a feel good chapter. Thanks for the reviews guys and keep em' coming. Let me know if you have anything specific that you want to see in this story.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty – Christmas at the Poynters**

"I'm going to miss you guys" Sydney said as he hugged his siblings before taking Tom's hand in his.

"I know, we're going to miss you too, but we promise we'll call on Christmas Day" Noah said as he mussed his brother's hair. Sydney giggled and beamed up at his siblings, but then a confused look crossed his face as he turned to Tom. "Weren't you going to give Gen her Christmas present?"

"Oh, right" Tom said and then reached into his backpack and started rummaging through it.

"I hope you have something for the rest of us too" Jacqui grumbled and Harry elbowed her in the side of the ribs.

"Don't worry, I do" Tom chuckled and produced eight boxes of different sizes. "But you all have to promise not to open them until Christmas"

"What are you, out mothers?" Danny asked as he cocked an eyebrow.

"Don't be rude, Danny" Madison said as she patted his shoulder and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. The others didn't bother trying to conceal the rolling of their eyes and ignored them.

"I'm going to have to give you guys your gifts after we get back, the things I want to get are specifically in Essex." Dougie apologized as he shrugged his shoulders.

"You already got the gifts from us" Noah pointed out.

"We'll see you guys later" Gen said as hers and Jacqui's flight was called. "We're going to call as soon as we get to Gran's house. She really wants to hear about the new friends that we made."

"See ya!" Jacqui gave the peace sign and grabbed her duffel bag.

"Wait, before you go, after Christmas when we're back at school, would you like to hang out or something?" Harry asked, scratching his neck. Jacqui was frozn for a seconds before grinning happily.

"That would be great! Later!"

Gen grabbed her arm and yanked her off to the gate that held their flight to Canada, as the other flights were called.

"Bye!" Patrick and Noah shouted as they followed Harry into their gate.

"Bye!" the others shouted back.

Riley and Rhuben followed Dougie onto the plane and sat down in their seats. "Dougs, could you switch seats with me so I have the window seat?" Riley asked him.

"No, I want the window seat." He told her, "So I'm not moving."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please with sugar on top?"

"No."

"You're so mean to me!"

He just looked at her and then reached for his Ipod headphones, slapping them on his ears. Riley stuck out her tongue and Rhuben shook her head in amusement.

* * *

"Is that my _baby_ boy?" a woman somewhere yelled as soon as Dougie, Riley, and Rhuben entered the Poynter household.

"Oh gosh." Dougie mumbled. Then he smiled, dropped his bag and hugged his mom. "Hey mom." He said.

"Hey? That's all you have to say to your mother after years and years apart?"

"Mom, I just visited you after the tour, before going back to New York, and before Jake suckered us into going to school."

"Oh, right. Oh well, seems like longer. Well, let me have a look at you." She pushed him away, "years, all that money, and not a decent meal has gone into you. To the kitchen!"

"Uh… mom?" Dougie said, nodding towards the door.

Riley and Rhuben had been observing this interacting standing by the door, and while they found it wildly funny, they were beginning to feel uncomfortable, not knowing what to do.

"Oh!" Mrs. Poynter cried. "Oh, you must be Riley and Rhuben. Oh dear I'm so sorry. You know, I'm an overbearing mother who can't stand to have her _baby_ taken away from her. Come here, come in."

Rhuben took a few cautious steps forward as Riley raised her eyebrows. Dougie's mother was beautiful. She had hair that curled softly below her shoulders, and Dougie's blue eyes. She was tall and in shape, only a little weight to show that she had given birth to some children. But more than just being beautiful, they could tell she was kind and loving, something that they had never experienced in their lives.

Mrs. Poynter immediately embraced the twin girls into a huge hug. "Oh, you're all skin and bones!" Mrs. Poynter cried, "What they feed you at that school, I'll never know. Come in, come on, both of you, to the kitchen! Oh, girls, we're just so glad you could come." She said, suddenly turning around and giving the girls another hug before turning to her son.

"Come on. Oh my little _Douglas_ is home for Christmas." She said, leading them through the foyer and down a hall.

"My little Douglas" Riley mouthed and Rhuben snickered. Dougie frowned and tried to hit her. She danced around him and stuck her tongue out.

"Look whose here!" Mrs. Poynter called. "Douglas! And his friends Riley and Rhuben! Girls, this is Jazzie, her boyfriend Josh. Over there is their baby cousin Georgie."

"And he's been _dying_ to see you, _Douglas_" Jazzie, who Riley and Rhuben knew was Dougie's sister, said as she handed the three year old boy to Dougie.

"Couldn't you have at least waited until I had shown my friends their rooms and gotten unpacked?" Dougie grumbled.

"And where would the fun in that be?" Jazzie asked teasingly and kissed his cheek and then left the kitchen with Josh behind her. Dougie smiled at her back and bounced the small boy that was in his arms as he sat down in a chair at the kitchen table.

"You know, if it wasn't for this kid, I probably wouldn't have been able to babysit your brothers those few times" Dougie said as he turned to Riley and Rhuben, who looked amused.

"It's also that, and that you sat on them all night long to make sure they wouldn't get into anything." Rhuben replied.

"Bringing a whole new meaning to 'babysitter'" Riley added.

"I hate you, you know that right?" Dougie asked as he pulled his head back as Georgie tried to grab onto his bottom lip.

"That's not true and you know it" Rhuben teased back.

"Guys, I couldn't hate you, even if I tried." He told them.

"Well don't. Don't even try."

"I won't."

* * *

**-Christmas Eve-**

They finished decorating the house on Christmas Eve, plugging in the lights, and Mrs. Poynter hanging mistletoe up in the doorway nearest to the tree.

"Ew!" Georgie cried, one of the only few words he could say, as Jazzie and Josh kissed under the .

"My family has the weirdest traditions." Dougie said.

About that moment, everyone turned expectantly to him and Riley, who was immediately preoccupied looking at other things as Rhuben grinned and got her digital camera at the ready. It was hers and Jazzie's idea to try and get their siblings together under the mistletoe. It didn't matter what Riley or Dougie did though, because Jazzie had an evil matchmaking streak that would have made Gen proud. She grabbed Riley and Mrs. Poynter grabbed Dougie and the two pushed them to stand under the mistletoe.

Riley's face bright red and she looked Dougie in eyes

'_Not_ _here, not now.' _She thought as she looked at him with wide eyes.

Dougie seemed to be able to read her mind, because he simply placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, and just shook his head to his family and friend's call of "It doesn't count!"

Rhuben tried to melt into the background, after that, and she and Riley happily observed as the family watched several Christmas movies and played certain games and ate certain foods. They joined along and had fun, but didn't totally understand. Their family didn't really have any Christmas traditions.

* * *

**-Christmas Day-**

"Hello?"

"_Riley, Rhuben, Syd, Pat, Noah, you all there?"_

"Julius!?" Five voices cried in unison.

"_Yeah, Merry Christmas you guys."_

"_Merry Christmas to you too" _Sydney said back cheerfully.

"_Did you get our gift yet?" _Noah asked and they could hear Julius laughter over the phone.

"_Yeah, thanks for the coupon book and the new IPod. How much did it cost you?"_

"Enough" Rhuben replied and she and Riley silently laughed as they pressed the phone against their ears.

"_Did you guys get my gifts?" _Julius asked hopefully.

"Yeah, the jersey's are awesome" Riley said excitedly.

"_Does all of them have our names on the back?"_

"_Yeah, they do. And let me tell you, it isn't easy to think of gift ideas for you guys_." Julius chuckled. _"Hey, I got to go, I'll see you when you get back."_

"Yeah, bye" the five of them said in unison and hung up.

"Hey guys" Riley and Rhuben looked up from Rhuben's cell phone and saw Jazzie leaning in the doorway of the guest room. "Come on, its time for presents."

* * *

The foyer was beautiful with the tree all lit and presents stacked underneath when Dougie, Jazzie, Riley, and Rhuben walked into the foyer. Jazzie was grinning smugly, waiting for her mother's reaction at Dougie's new look

"Everyone here?" Mrs. Poynter asked and then got a good look at Dougie. "What did you _do_?" she gaped and Dougie gave a tired sigh.

"Here it comes" Jazzie said gleefully, rubbing her hands together.

"I dyed my hair black, rinsed it red, got a haircut, and got my lip pierced" he replied.

"But why?" she asked. "You looked so handsome before."

"I like the way I look" Dougie replied. "But if you don't like it-"

"No, Dougie, its fine, you still look handsome to me, it was just some sort of a shock to me. That's all" Mrs. Poynter said and Dougie grinned at his sister, who pouted and dropped her shoulders. "Good. Alright, littlest first. Go on Georgie, pick a present." Mrs. Poynter said to the toddlers

Jazzie handed him a present and he slowly started to pull the wrapping paper off. Hey, he was only 3, toddlers move slow when they want to. He clapped in delight over a police officer's hat and badge.

"Oh, just what he needs." Dougie mumbled to Riley and Rhuben, who laughed in reply.

Then it was a sort of free for all. Everyone got their gifts and opened them (or Jazzie did it for them). Rhuben observed them happily, not wanting anything more than the moment she'd already been given.

But the Poynters had other ideas, "We didn't forget you girls" Mrs. Poynter told the twin girls. "Here, Douglas told us about your love of music, we thought this might make a nice addition."

Riley and Rhuben took the presents, and unwrapped it carefully, astonished to find a box of colorful plectrums for Riley, and new drumsticks for Rhuben.

"Wow" Riley gaped.

"We can't accept it; we weren't expecting a gift. You already flew us out here and…"

"Of course you can accept it." Jazzie told her.

"In fact, I can tell by the look on your face, you'd be hard pressed to part with it already. Merry Christmas, girls." Mrs. Poynter said cheerfully

* * *

"Gran is here" Dougie announced as he walked into Jazzie's room, where, she Riley, and Rhuben were sitting on Jazzie's bed, finishing getting ready for the big dinner that was almost done being prepared.

Jazzie rolled her eyes and the two stuck their fingers down their throats and laughed.

"What's wrong with your Gran?" Riley asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Gran Poynter. She's snobby, and absolutely horrible. She's Dad's mum, but I don't know how _Dad_ came from her house. She actually made my parents throw me a 'Sweet 13' party."

"What?"

"Yea, big fluffy white dress, dancing, all sorts of food I wasn't allowed to eat. It was horrible. Anyhow, if you're going to meet her, you'd better be perfect. I don't think there's a girl on the planet that she thinks is good enough for _baby Douglas Poynter_."

"Shut up" Dougie snapped.

He was in a tux, everything ready except his unbuttoned jacket and his tie, which he clutched in his hand.

"You're going down there like _that_ are you?" Dougie asked, looking at Riley who sat in a bathrobe. "I mean, I think you look great, but Gran is here."

"What do you want?" Jazzie asked when she noticed that Dougie hadn't left yet.

"Tie." He said meekly, holding it out. Jazzie sighed and tied his bow tie for him. She had just finished when Josh walked in, also clutching a tie. Jazzie tied his but topped it off with a kiss.

"I'm glad she didn't do that to me." Dougie mumbled to Riley and Rhuben.

"See you downstairs." Jazzie told Josh.

"See you."

* * *

"Well, Douglas? Don't just stand there staring like an idiot, introduce me to your pretty lady friends." The old woman next to him said.

Dougie shook his head, and said, "Gran, this is Riley and Rhuben Jackson. Guys, this is my Grandmother Poynter."

"It's wonderful to meet you." Riley said, holding out her hand.

"Oh my dear, I never shake a person's hand. Especially not this time of year. Too many germs, and I've too old an immune system." Gran said, before walking away.

"You could have _told_ us she doesn't shake hands." Rhuben hissed at Dougie.

"I was trying to make a good impression." Riley added.

"Oh, are you kidding, she loves you." Jazzie commented, walking up to them.

"What?" the twin girls asked in unison.

"Yea, that's Gran being nice."

"I'd hate to see her being rude."

"Yes you would."

Rhuben grabbed Dougie's arm as he started to walk into the dinning room. He looked at the two girls in silent curiosity.

"Dougs, we don't know how to thank you" Riley started.

"Yeah, this is the first time in a long time that we have had an actually Christmas." Rhuben muttered. "And you offered to take us to your home and to treat us like your own family. So, thanks."

"No problem, you guys are my best friends" Dougie said and wrapped his arms around the both of them. "And I don't think I would be able to stand it if you guys had a bad Christmas."

"You're just saying that because we haven't given you your gifts yet" Rhuben said dryly.

"Exactly" Dougie nodded and hugged them. "Merry Christmas guys."

"Merry Christmas, Doug"


	22. Chapter 21: Happy New Year

**Chapter Twenty One – Happy New Year**

"Hey guys, its time to pick out resolutions," Gen called as she set down her plastic cup that was filled with Rootbeer before yanking Riley's beanie off of her head and dumping slips of paper into it.

"You're welcome" Riley said sarcastically.

"Thank you" Gen said and smiled sweetly. "Sit down everyone. Where are your brothers, they need to get on this too."

"Not unless you want to wake them up" Tom laughed and pointed to Patrick, Noah, and Sydney, who were curled up under a blanket, snoring softly. The others looked over at them and started laughing too.

"So, what do we have to do?" Harry asked as he sat down next to Jacqui, and gave her a bright smile. Since they had gotten back from their Christmas vacation, the two had started to hang out a lot more and had fallen for each other, but they were too shy to say anything.

But you could tell from the sinister smile on Gen's face, that she had a plan to get them together.

"Well, what Jacqui, the Jacksons and I do are write down resolutions, that are kind of like dares, and whatever one you pick up, you have to do," Gen explained. "Which is why we made you guys write down resolutions at the beginning of the party."

"Why am I afraid of this?" Madison asked as she gripped Danny's hand in hers. Riley ignored her and laughed at Tom, Dougie, and Danny, who looked scared.

"Guys, its noting that will be harmful to your health," Rhuben said and paused. "It's just harmful to your ego and to your sanity. So, who wants to be man enough to go first?"

"I guess I'll go first." Jacqui said and dug her hand around in Riley's beanie. She picked up a slip of paper and opened it, and burst out laughing.

"What, what does it say?" Tom demanded and Harry pulled the slip of paper out of her hand. He read it and burst out laughing too.

"What does it say?" Dougie asked in a whining tone.

"Stop whinging" Riley said, slapping him on the back of the head.

"It says, _I'll stop being such a pervert_" Jacqui replied, still laughing.

"I don't see why that's so funny, I think that it's a good resolution for you" Tom said and ducked out of the way of the pillow that was thrown at him.

"I sure as hell didn't write that one" Jacqui replied.

"Then it must have been Danny" Rhuben replied, rolling her eyes.

"I resent that!" Madison shot back.

"And no one cares," Dougie said quickly. "Next?"

"I'll go next" Harry said and picked out a piece of paper. '_Kiss the most beautiful girl in the room._' he read it out loud.

"So, who are you going to kiss?" Tom asked. "There are lots of fit girls around at the party."

"What are you talking about, Tom?" Dougie asked, shaking his head. "Harry's not going to go along with this."

"If I go through this and kiss the most beautiful girl in the room, then you give me 30 bucks." Harry replied, smirking at the younger boy.

"If not...you have to clean my room for a week." Dougie retorted. Harry looked at him with a pained expression.

"Deal!"

Harry looked at his watch for a few seconds, as the other starred at him in curiosity, and Dougie grew impatient.

"So, are you going to go or not?" he demanded.

"Wait 5…4…3..2..1…" He leaned in towards Jacqui and their lips touched. She leaned forward and parted her mouth. Harry slowly put his tongue in, their tongues intertwined. She pulled back. He wiped the gloss of his mouth.

"You think I'm the most beautiful girl in the room?" She asked. Harry nodded and gripped her hand.

"Happy New Year" she said.

"Happy New Year"

"Wow, you guys _aren't_ disgusting" Riley said sarcastically, although there was a small smile on her face.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, we're back, even though its obvious. Sorry this chapter was so short, but I just got back home from a 13 hour drive. Anyway, I skipped from the Christmas chapters because I thought it was a good idea to show how Riley and Rhuben would break down over Christmas. Anyway, while in Chicago, with no access to internet, we thought of A LOT of story ideas, and we'll put them up as soon as we finish a few of the ones we have now.**


	23. Chapter 22: New Students

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews you guys, you're awesome! Anyway, check out our new one-shot called 'Crashed the Wedding'.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Two – New Students**

"So, what are you guys doing for Spring Break?" Rhuben asked her friends one day at lunch. She cried out in pain when Danny reached across the table and pinched her arm. "Ow! God, that's the fifteenth time! I know I'm not wearing green, would you stop it!?"

"You know he's just doing that for an excuse to touch you, right?" Gen asked her, Rhuben made a race and rubbed her arm.

"Make sure Madison doesn't find out" Jacqui said and the others rolled their eyes. Ever since she went home with him for Christmas, Madison and Danny had been inseparable, and now it was starting to get really annoying. Not that it wasn't annoying before, but it was now really getting on their nerves.

"Anyway, are you guys doing anything during Spring Break?" Riley asked, ignoring what Jacqui said.

"Nothing" Tom, Danny, Dougie, and Harry replied in unison.

"What are you going to do?" Rhuben asked Gen and Jacqui.

"Depends on what you're doing" Gen replied and gave a bright smile as Riley looked at her suspiciously.

"Anyway, we were thinking of going back to Australia, Julius is thinking of going to a college there, and surprisingly enough, dad said that it was fine if we took you guys along, as long as you weren't going anywhere."

"Awesome, sounds cool!" Tom said, his eyes flashing excitedly. "How long are we staying?"

"Uh, we're staying the whole week, and you guys will be at our house" Rhuben replied.

"Is your house big enough for all of us?" Harry asked as he raised an eyebrow. "I mean, there _are_ a lot of people going to be there."

"Trust me, there'll be enough room" Jacqui said and Riley and Rhuben glared at her. "What, I'm just telling the truth."

"Guess who" Madison said cheerfully as she put her hands over Danny's eyes and kissed his cheek.

"Who else would greet him like that, besides his mom?" Tom asked sarcastically and gave Dougie and Harry a high-five.

"Hey, what's up babe?" Danny asked as he gave her a kiss. Madison smiled and kissed him back as the others watched disgusted looks on their faces. When it didn't look like they were coming up for air anytime soon, the others got up and left the table.

"Wow, that's really annoying" Gen said as she shook her head.

"You're telling us" Harry replied.

Back at the table, Danny and Madison were still kissing each other. "Ouch, Danny, you're gripping my arm too hard" Madison murmured between kisses.

"Oh, sorry, Rhuben" Danny replied and went to kiss Madison again, but she pulled away, glaring at him. Danny opened his eyes and looked at her in confusion. "What? What's wrong?"

"You called me Rhuben" Madison replied softly. "Do you have a thing for her?"

"What? I'm dating you, how could I like her?" Danny asked; panic welling up in his chest.

"Danny, I'm going to ask you something and I want you to be honest with me," Madison said slowly. "Are you dating me just to get Rhuben jealous?"

"How could you- I don't see how- Maddie-"

"Yes or no Danny?"

"…yes"

Madison stood up and slapped him across the face and stormed away from the table as Danny rubbed his red cheek.

* * *

"Hi guys!" Patrick, Noah, and Sydney shouted and waved from where they were eating lunch with their classmates. Riley and Rhuben waved back at them.

"Anyway, as I was saying, its going to suck tomorrow because its Parents Day and we have to dress up for it" Rhuben said as she shoved her hands into her jeans pockets.

"Unfortunately it's mandatory for parents to come, do yours are most likely flying out here as we speak" Riley added.

"Oh come on, Parents Day can't be that bad" Tom said as he shook his head.

"It is to those who have parents to embarrass them in public" Jacqui said and shuddered at the thought.

"That happened to you before?" Harry asked as he stopped walking and plucked a flower out of the grass and handed it to her.

"Yeah, last year, the year before that, the year before that." Gen teased and laughed as Jacqui stuck her tongue out at her.

"That's what she said" Jacqui shot back.

"Not that again" Riley said and rolled her eyes. "Anyway, why don't you guys come by the restaurant tonight, we're having a karaoke talent night type thing."

"And you want us to go so you're not bored to death" Dougie guessed and Riley jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around her neck to support her weight.

"Something like that" she replied and Dougie blushed when her breath tickled his ear. Tom looked over at Harry, who smiled and nodded back at him. Dougie saw this but ignored them.

"Oh, guys, we have to go see what sports us girls can sign up for for the spring" Gen said as she looked at her watch.

"Oh right" Riley agreed and jumped down from Dougie's back.

"See you guys later" Jacqui called, giving a wave and the four girls went off to the administration building.

"Ok, I know that you guys are giving me really…_weird_ looks right now" Dougie said as he turned to Harry and Tom, who were indeed grinning like idiots. "And I'm kind of afraid of what you're going to say. So you might as well get it over with."

"Do you want to sing it?" Tom asked Harry.

"Sure" Harry replied and his grin grew wider.

"Dougie and Riley sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" they sang, skipping around Dougie in a circle.

"Ok, that's enough" Dougie said and held up his hand. Tom and Harry stopped singing, still smiling.

"You have to admit it sometimes, you _faaaaaaancy_ Riley" Tom said.

"Admit it" Harry said and poked him in the chest. "You have to admit it sometime."

"Fine, I admit it" Dougie grumbled.

"What was that, I didn't hear you?" Tom said and leaned towards Dougie, cupping a hand around his ear.

"I said I admit it" Dougie snapped, shoving his arm away. "Well, so what if I fancy her, she doesn't like me the same way"

"You don't know that for sure" Harry said, shaking his head.

"No, I _do_ know that for sure. She only likes me as a friend, which is why I haven't told her that I like her. She probably likes someone else."

"Yeah but-"

"HEY TOMMY-BOY, WHAT'S UP!"

Tom screamed in shock as someone landed on his back and knocked him over onto the grass. Matt, Charlie, Dougie and Harry burst out laughing as James got off Tom's back and stood up, pulling his friend to his feet.

"What are you guys doing here?" Tom asked as he gaped at Busted.

"We go to this school now" James replied…


	24. Chapter 23: Parents Day

**A/N: Just so you know, the next chapter of DEFly: Greatest Hits Tour will take a little bit to get put out because I'm describing what happens during the concert and its taking a while to type.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Three – Parents Day**

"You're going to this school now?" Tom repeated. "Why?"

"Apparently, Jake talked to our manager, and that made him want us to go to school too," Charlie replied. "And since we knew that you guys were going to this school and were enjoying it, we thought to come here."

"Wow, that's, interesting" Harry said slowly as he watched Busted look around, watching girls walk by.

"You sure picked a bad time to come to this school," Dougie said with a grin as he shook his head. "For one thing, the school year is almost over, and we're having Parents Day tomorrow, so you have to spend your first official day at this school dressed up."

"I don't know, it doesn't seem so bad to me" Matt said with a grin as he winked at a leggy brunette girl who walked by. She giggled with her friend and hurried away.

"Sure" Tom said as he rolled his eyes.

"Hey guys" Danny muttered as he walked up to Tom, Harry, and Dougie. He turned to Busted and raised his eyebrows. "Do I even want to know?"

"They come to this school now" Harry replied and then looked Danny over closely. "And from the look in your eyes, I think that you just got dumped."

"How does he do that?" Danny asked Dougie and Tom, who shrugged in reply.

"I don't know, he's the sensible one" Tom replied.

"So, who'd you get dumped by?" James asked, knowing about Danny's dating habits. "Was it that Rhuben girl you're obsessed with?"

"No, for once he actually had a girlfriend for over two months" Harry replied. "Her name is Madison and I wonder why she dumped you. Let me guess, she thinks you're a terrible kisser?"

"That can't be true, with all of the practice that he has been getting, Danny couldn't be a bad kisser." Charlie joked, causing the others to laugh.

"Then, it _must_ have something to do with you accidentally calling her the wrong name, because that has happened before" Dougie replied and Danny stayed quiet. "That's it isn't it? You called her the wrong name?"

"Ooh, that's gotta suck, mate" Matt said with a small chuckle.

"Don't rub it in" Danny muttered in reply.

"So, are any of you guys going to show us the school, or are we going to have to get someone else to do it?" James asked as he waved to a group of girls that passed by.

"C'mon" Tom rolled his eyes and led James, Charlie, and Matt into the office buildings.

* * *

"Hey Mom. Hey Dad" Gen greeted as her parents as she walked into her father's arms and gave him a big hug. "How are you guys? How's Gran?"

"We've got a lot of work done, and your Gran hopes that you go to visit her over the summer" Mrs. Charlier replied as she kissed her daughter on the forehead. When she straightened up, she saw Riley and Rhuben pushing their way through the crowded lobby of the dorm building. "Riley, Rhuben, how are you two."

"We're great, Mrs. Charlier" Riley said through a forced smile.

"Really great" Rhuben reiterated. "We're looking for our brothers, we have to talk to them about Spring Break."

"You got our message about Gen coming with us, right?" Riley asked.

"Yes, as long as your brother or someone is there to watch all of you, its fine" Mr. Charlier replied with a confirmed nod.

"Alright, bye" Rhuben said and the two continued to walk through the lobby, pushing people out of their way. Rhuben stopped walking when someone grabbed onto her ponytail and yanked hard. Whirling around, Rhuben glared into the face of Madison, who glared back at her. "What was that for?"

"Listen here, bitch," Madison interrupted. Riley's eyebrows raised in amusement and she waited for her to continue. "Danny is _my_ boyfriend, not yours, got it?"

"You can have him" Rhuben replied with a chuckle as she turned to continue walking with her sister, but Madison grabbed her arm and turned her back around.

"Stay away from him or I'll have to give you a smackdown" Madison continued, trying to sound tough. Rhuben chuckled and pushed up her shirt sleeves.

"Go ahead, it will be your last" she replied in a intimidating tone.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" Riley said, sounding scared. "Dad's here."

"Oh shit" Rhuben muttered and turned around, watching her father stumble into the lobby and stagger around, crashing into people. "Why did he have to come _this_ year?"

"There you are!" Robert Jackson almost shouted as he stumbled over to his daughters, he was obviously drunk. "Were you hiding from me? I missed you two!" he hugged his daughters, and they made disturbed faces as they tried to get out of Robert's grasp.

"Uh, no dad, you just didn't see us" Riley replied as she nervously looked around. Someone tapped her on the arm and she turned around and came face to face with Mrs. Poynter. "Hey Mrs. Poynter, what are you doing here?"

"Did you come to see your little baby?" Rhuben asked teasingly.

"Shut up you guys" Dougie muttered as he came up behind his mother, his cheeks kind of red.

"Oh, is this your father?" Mrs. Poynter asked, turning to Robert, who was laughing at something. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's just a little sick" Riley said quickly. "The flu probably, but he came here anyway." She laughed nervously as Dougie gave her a look, remembering when she said that her father never came to Parents Day.

"Yeah, so we should be getting him _home, now_" Rhuben said through gritted teeth and grabbed Robert's arm. He roughly brushed her off, causing her to stumble.

"I'm….fine" he slurred.

"Ok" Dougie said slowly and then turned to Riley. "Riley, I need to talk to you about something, can we go and-"

"Is this your little boyfriend?" Robert asked, suddenly sounding angry. "Are you sleeping with him like all of the other guys in school?" he asked Riley and pushed her when she didn't answer. "Huh, slut?"

"I'm not a slut, dad" she said softly, looking at her feet. Dougie exchanged a look with his mother and then turned back to Riley, Rhuben, and their father.

"DON'T TALK BACK TO ME!" Robert roared and hit her across the face.

"Sir, I don't think you need to hit your daughter like that" Mrs. Poynter said in a pleading tone.

"You stay our of this, she's not your daughter!" Robert snapped.

"Dad, let's go find Julius, maybe he-"

Rhuben was cut off as Robert shoved her to the ground. "Forget it, I'll just go, I didn't want to come to this _fucking_ school anyway, I'm going back to the bar."

* * *

"Are you ok?"

Riley quickly wiped tears off of her cheeks and she looked up to see a boy with blonde hair, parts of it dyed brown, and green eyes standing above her.

"I'm fine" she replies stiffly. The boy sat down next to her on the bench.

"No you're not, you were crying" the boy pointed out. "I heard what your dad said to you and you're not a slut."

"How would you know?" Riley asked bitterly. "I don't even know you."

"I know you're not a slut because you don't look like one" the boy replied and gave a small smile. "You're too pretty to be a slut."

"Thanks, I think"

"No problem" the boy replied and gave a bigger smile and stuck out his hand. "I'm James Bourne."

"Riley Jackson, nice to meet you"


	25. Chapter 24: Spring Break Pt1

**A/N: So, we finally get to the Spring Break Chapters. I'm going to make it seven chapters long so it will spand over a week long. But I have something to ask you guys. We're now a member of the Dougiefied forums and we want to know what story do you guys think we should put on there? Send in a review or PM, it doesn't really matter; just let us know which one we should do.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Four – Spring Break Pt.1**

"So your dad is in jail" Danny stated to Rhuben on the last day of school before Spring Break. The two were in chemistry class, which now was a study hall because they had no homework to do.

"Yeah, he's been in jail for the past two weeks" Rhuben replied with a sigh. "It sucks actually."

"How could it possibly suck if you're finally away from the guy that abused you?" Danny asked in disbelief. Rhuben made a disapproving tsk sound and turned to face him completely.

"Because I might have to move back home so I'm closer to Julius and then I'd have to leave the best school I've ever gone to, and leave the best friends I've ever had" she replied. Danny smiled hopefully.

"Am I one of the best friends that you've made?"

"From time to time, it depends on my mood" Rhuben replied, taking pleasure in the way his face fell. She got up as the bell rang and grabbed her laptop case, swinging it over her head so the strap rested on her shoulders. "We're leaving early tomorrow so make sure Dougie doesn't sleep in. Oh, and Busted invited themselves along."

"Is that a bad thing?" Danny asked as he followed her out of the classroom. "I mean, James and Matt I can understand why you'd get annoyed, but Charlie's cool."

"No, its fine, the more the merrier." Rhuben relied and kept him from walking by grabbing his shoulder. "I didn't want to mention this, but Madison told me that she broke up with you because you like me. I mean, it's obvious that you do, but I want to hear you say it."

"Fine," Danny replied calmly, thinking that Rhuben was going to admit that she liked him. "Madison broke up with me because I accidentally called her you. The reason I did that was because I like you a lot." He took a confident step forward and Rhuben stared at him. "And I think that we would be great together, if you gave me the chance. What do you say?"

"I'm not going to turn you down harshly like every other time, because, I hate to admit this, but that was really sweet" Rhuben said and continued quickly when Danny looked at his feet, pushing her lock of purple hair behind her ear. "_But, _I'll think about it"

With that, she turned and walked to her dorm.

"I SAW THAT!"

Rhuben calmly turned towards Jacqui, who was bouncing up and down in excitement. "I knew it all along! You have the Jones for Danny Jones."

"Nice play on words" Rhuben said and smirked. "But I don't like him like that; I just didn't want to shoot him down like I did all the time before."

"Liar, you tucked your lock of purple hair behind your ear, which means you like him!" Jacqui declared, sticking her finger in Rhuben's face. "You liiike him, you liiike him" she sang as she skipped along beside Rhuben, who shook her head in annoyance and continued to the dorm.

* * *

"Is everybody here?" Julius asked his siblings, who were grabbing bags off of the baggage claim. Patrick stood up and looked around.

"Uh, no, Tom, James, and Matt are over at the starbucks getting coffee. Charlie, Harry, and Jacqui are at the gift shop. Gen is asleep in that chair over there. And Dougie and Danny are watching the planes take off" he replied.

"So, go get them and I'll rent the car" Julius replied. Sydney decided to stay with Gen so they could keep watch on their stuff, and he knew that he was going to have fun waking her up. Riley decided to stay and practice her skills at hacky-sacking. So Rhuben, Patrick, and Noah went to get everybody else.

"Hey Ri-Ri?" Sydney asked, from where he was sitting next to Gen in the seat, waiting for Julius to come back.

"Yeah?" she asked, hardly looking up from the ball that she was bouncing from foot to foot.

"What are we going to do all week?" Sydney asked. "I know that everybody is going to want to sleep because they lost a day, but what are we going to do the rest of the time?"

"Go the beach and stuff?" Riley replied as if it were a question. "We'll think of something. The thing we'll have to figure out the most is who is going to share a room with who, I mean, we have a lot of guest rooms, but not enough for everyone. I didn't anticipate this."

"You'll think of something" Gen replied, she was listening to the conversation.

"Why is it that _I_ have to think of something?" Riley asked, slightly annoyed.

"Because you're the undecided leader, remember?" Rhuben said pointedly as she and her brothers came back with the others. "I'm glad I don't have to worry about all of the stress."

"Gee, thanks" Riley grumbled.

"So, what kind of car are we taking?" James asked. Riley cursed as she kicked the hacky sack too hard and hit him in the forehead. "Ow!"

"Oh, sorry about that" Riley said and held out her hand to take it back.

"No problem" James replied and smiled warmly. Dougie looked at him a stone cold look on his face, and shook his head.

"Ok everybody, I got the car that we're going to take" Julius said as he walked back over to his siblings and friends.

"We're only taking one car?" Jacqui asked, raising her eyebrows in confusion. "Aren't there too many of us to do that?"

"Not if you're taking a limo" Julius replied and the others started to cheer. "Don't wear yourselves out guys, as soon as we get to our home and show you around, you're going to be fast asleep."

"Your house has to be pretty big if you can keep everybody over" Tom stated as they walked towards the parking lot. "How big is your house?"

"You'll see" Sydney replied.

* * *

"Yeah, yeah, our house is pretty big" Patrick said rolling his eyes as his friends looked around the large foyer in shock.

"Big? It's humongous!" Dougie declared.

"How'd you get a house this big?" Harry added.

"Let's just say our dad is good at his job" Noah said softly.

"Ok, time for the grand tour" Riley said. "First, we'll start with the basement, follow me" the kids followed the Jacksons to the basement and they let out collective gasps.

"This, is our recording studio" Rhuben said gesturing towards the room of CD, microphones, drum sets, guitars, and anything else you would need to make a CD or a music video.

"How do you record stuff?" Charlie asked as he looked over a guitar. "Is it hard?"

"Eh, we'll show ya later" Sydney said with a shrug before leading everybody back up the stairs. They walked up to the center of the house. "This is the den, over there is the coat closet, and then there's the kitchen."

"Moving on." Patrick said and ushered everybody upstairs.

"Ok, this is Sydney's room" Julius said pushing a door open. Inside was a light blue room with lots of computer stuff, tucked in a corner was a wheelchair and crutches and on the wall was posters of big sandcastles. And his bed was tucked in another corner.

"And this one is Patrick and Noah's" Sydney said as he pushed open another door. The walls were black with gold and silver swirls. All around the top of the wall were hats. And in one corner was a desk with skateboard, scooter, and rollerblade parts on it. One the walls were posters. There was a large window facing the beach, their bunk bed was underneath it.

"This one is Riley's and Rhuben's" Patrick said pushing another door open. The walls were black with red and purple flames going around the room. There were posters of surfers, wake boarders, skateboarders, roller bladders, and motorcycle racers. In one corner were a drum set and an electric guitar. And on the other side was a wall of skateboards and rollerblades.

"And this room is Patrick's and Noah's dragon den. Here they use clay to make and kiln dragon with different aspects" Rhuben said pointing to one room.

"Can we see?" Matt asked and touched the doorknob. He yelped and pulled his hand away, as if it were on fire.

"Apparently not" James said and laughed.

"And this is the game room" Riley said opening a door to a room that had a Game Cube, An XBOX, A PS2, a big screen TV, bean bag chairs, a mini frig, and big plastic bubble chairs.

"What are those rooms?" Gen asked as she pointed to the two rooms that were at the end of the hall. Riley hesitated.

"It doesn't mater, no one is allowed in there" Rhuben said quickly. "Your guest rooms are up on the third floor, Jacqui and Gen know what room they're staying in. Pat, Noah, Syd, you show where the rest of the guys are going to stay. Sleep tight everyone; we'll wake you up when dinner is ready."

She and Riley went down the stairs to the kitchen and watched as Julius went around, making sure he had the ingredients for everything. He looked up as they came into the kitchen.

"You know you're going to have to tell them eventually" he said gently.

"I liked it better when we actually had a choice or not to tell" Rhuben grumbled.

"But we know you're right" Riley sighed. "And if we don't tell, it's just a matter of time until they find out.


	26. Chapter 25: Spring Break Pt2

**Chapter Twenty Five- Spring Break Pt.2**

"Morning" The Jacksons greeted as McFly, Busted, Gen, and Jacqui stumbled into the kitchen the next morning.

"How are you so perky in the morning?" Matt grumbled as he sat down at the kitchen table that was filled with scrambled eggs, potatoes, fruit, cinnamon rolls, vegemite, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, and biscuits. There were pitchers of apple, grape, and orange juice on the table. There was also a pot of boiling water on the stove just in case someone wanted coffee, hot chocolate, or apple cider. "And how do you make so much stuff?"

"I guess it's just our way of saying that you're welcome in our house" Noah shrugged as he placed the plates on the table.

"Go ahead and sit, we're almost done." Julius added and then grabbed some keys from the cupboard. "Unfortunately, I have a college visit to go to. I'll be back later guys, have fun."

"Bye Julius" Sydney called back.

"What time did you guys wake up?" Tom asked as he brushed his hair out of his eyes and yawned.

"What time is it now?" Rhuben asked as she turned away from the pantry and placed jelly on the table.

"About 11:00" Tom replied.

"Then _I_'ve been up for six hours, they've been up for four hours" Riley replied as she sat down at the table and her siblings joined her.

"Dang girl, how can you wake up that early?" James asked, his eyes widening in shock. Riley shrugged and smirked.

"Whatever, as long as can eat" Dougie said and reached for a sausage. Patrick slapped his hand away.

"Not yet" he said and shot a small glare at him. "We have to say grace first. Everybody join hands." He took Riley's and Dougie's hand in his. Glancing at each other, the others took each other's hands and then closed their eyes.

"We fold our hands and softly say, thank you for our food today, amen" The Jacksons said in unison and let go, reaching for the juice.

"That's it?" Danny asked.

"Short, sweet, and to the point" Noah joked in reply.

"So, what are we doing today?" Jacqui asked.

"You guys can choose," Rhuben replied. "There are lots of things to do. You can go to the Outback, You can go snorkeling or go to the beach pretty much, you can go mountain biking, sight seeing, shopping, kite flying, zorbing, archery, dune cycling, learn how to throw a boomerang, learn how to play the didgeridoo, you name it."

"I want to go to the zoo!" Sydney said loudly.

"You're not the guest, it's not your choice" Noah said gently and handed him a bowl of potatoes.

"Well, we've gone to the beach a lot back home, so why don't we check out what an Australian mall is like, its got to be different" Charlie suggested.

"What's the date?" Riley asked suddenly.

"It's…April the 13, which means we have a week to go shopping for someone's birthday" Gen said and mussed Noah's hair teasingly. "So, what do you guys want to for your birthday?"

"How old are you turning?" James asked them.

"Thirteen" Patrick and Noah replied proudly.

"Oh, you're finally going to be teenagers, which means that you can date" Danny said and grinned.

"Yeah, I can't wait!" Patrick added and then glanced at Riley and Rhuben, who were staring pointedly at him and he coughed. "To treat them with respect and kindness that Danny doesn't."

"Good boy" Rhuben grinned as Danny rolled his eyes.

"So we're going to the mall, we can go as soon as you're all done eating. Since there's a lot of us, we'll take a bus, we can walk to the beach later." Riley said, confirming the plans.

"Right" Rhuben agreed.

"Hey, what's this?" Dougie asked as he pointed to a brown spread with his knife.

"Oh, that's Vegemite" Sydney replied and Rhuben jumped up from her seat and grabbed her digital camera from the counter. He smiled when he saw that she changed it to 'Video Camera' mode.

"What is it exactly?" Dougie asked as he lifted it out of the packet with his knife and examined it closely.

"It's a spread, its really good" Riley replied. "You should all try it."

"I don't know you might be trying to poison us" Harry said as Dougie handed him the brown spread and stared at the bit that was on his knife.

"Now why would we do a thing like that?" Patrick asked in a innocent way that made him seem fake. "I am shocked and _ashamed_ that you would even think that we would do that."

"I wonder why" James said dryly as he inspected the brown spread.

"Does everybody have some?" Sydney asked, standing on his knees in his chair, his eyes wide with anticipation.

"Yeah" was the reply.

"Ok, go ahead and try it" Riley said and leaned over to Rhuben. "You're getting this on tape, right?"

"Oh yeah" Rhuben grinned in reply, trying not to laugh.

At the same time, McFly, Busted, Gen, and Jacqui took a bite of the spread that was on their knives, and at the same time they spit it out. The Jacksons howled with laughter as they raced to drink juice, to wash out their mouths.

"Ugh, that stuff is _disgusting_!" Gen cried, wiping off her mouth with a napkin.

"How do you _eat_ that ruddy stuff?" Charlie asked after downing a glass of grape juice.

"We didn't say that we ate it" Noah pointed out, his cheeks beet red from laughing so hard.

"Yeah, but you said it was good" Tom replied, his eyes wide.

"I didn't say that _we_ thought it was good." Rhuben pointed out and she and Riley high-fived each other.

"You guys are evil" Matt muttered.

"That's what a lot of people think" Rhuben commented and turned on the radio, bobbing her head to the music that poured out of the radio. "Oh, I _love_ this song!"

"What is it?" Jacqui asked, wiping her tongue on a napkin, so it came out sounding like 'at is eh'?

"It's Over by Default" Rhuben replied.

"No, it's by Nickleback" Matt contradicted her.

"No, it's Default"

"Nickleback"

"Default!"

"Nickleback!"

"Knock it off; I'm trying to eat here!" Dougie said through a mouthful of food. Sydney sighed and grabbed his laptop from underneath the table and booted it up. The others continued eating, Matt and Rhuben glaring at each other, as they waited for Sydney to give them the answer.

"It wouldn't make much of a difference to you, mate" Tom said as he rolled his eyes.

"The song It's Over was originally made by Default, and then covered by Nickleback, but since they both sound alike, fans often get them mistaken for each other." Sydney replied and closed the lid wit ha little click.

"Ha! Told ya!" Rhuben cried triumphantly.

"Whatever, let us know when you guys are done, we'll go down to the mall in the afternoon after your stomachs are settled" Riley said as she got up from the table.

"You hardly ate anything" James pointed out.

"Oh, I don't eat big breakfasts back home, a cinnamon bun and scrambled eggs and potatoes are all I need for a breakfast" she replied and placed her plate in the sink. "What do you think, should we make Julius do the dishes as soon as he gets home?"

"Totally!" Patrick and Noah agreed, grinning like fools. Riley nodded in agreement and looked at the stack of mail that was on the counter. Her face clouded when she saw a large envelope. "Another college letter?"

"Yep" she replied with a sigh and left the kitchen.

"What's wrong with a college letter?" Gen asked.

"We don't like to talk about it" Rhuben replied stiffly, also getting up. "So yeah, like Riley said we're going to the mall in the afternoon, so you all have plenty of time to take showers and stuff."

Patrick, Noah, and Sydney got up and left the kitchen soon after their sisters did.

"What's up with them?" Gen asked in a concerned tone.

"I don't know, what's up with those two rooms we can't go into?" Jacqui shot back.

"We'll find out when they want to tell us, other then that we can sneak in when they're not here and check it our ourselves." Harry replied mysetiously.

"You're going to completely invade their privacy just to know what's in that room?" Charlie asked.

"Are you not going to help?"

"Of course I'm going to help, but it would be nice if you felt a little bit guilty."

"I'll feel guilty if we get caught."

"You mean _when_ you get caught" Tom corrected.

* * *

"Sydney, hurry up!"

"Coming!" Sydney shouted back, jumping at the sudden noise. He quickly placed the picture of his parents on their wedding day, back on the dresser and jumped of the large bed. He closed and locked it behind him before hurrying down the stairs to where the others were waiting by the front door.

"What were you doing?" Noah asked him as he helped him put on his shoes and tie them.

"Oh, I was feeding With really quickly" he lied, avoiding everyone's gaze.

"All right, let's go" Rhuben said and grabbed a set of keys and ushered everybody out of the house. "The bus stop isn't that far from here, and the mall is like twenty minuets away."

"So James, how's your guys' music going?" Tom asked as they walked down the sidewalk.

"It's going great, we're in the middle of putting out our next cd" Matt replied and nodded enthusiastically. "Do you have a laser tag in the mall?"

"Yep" Noah replied with a nod.

"Awesome, we're _so_ going there!" Matt declared.

"Sure, but I doubt you'll beat Rhu's and my score" Riley replied and smirked.

"I bet I can!" Matt shot back.

"Bet you can't!" Riley and Rhuben replied in unison.

"That's not good" Gen laughed.

"What's not good?" Tom asked, turning to look at her.

"Riley and Rhuben get _waaaaaaay_ too competitive" Gen replied as she rolled her eyes. "Its gets annoying after a while. Don't get me wrong, I love to play laser tag, but it's the fact that if they lose they won't stop playing until they win."

"Well, when they do that, we could go walking through the mall, like a date?" Tom asked her, Gen couldn't help but let a happy smile form on her face.

"That'd be cool" she said and beamed. Tom smiled back and took her hand in his, if anything, Gen's smile got wider.

"Way ta go, Gens, you've got yourself a boyfriend!" Jacqui said loudly, jumping onto Tom's back, causing him to jump in fear.

"Who's her boyfriend?" Danny asked, instantly wanting to know.

"Tom" Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney replied in unison.

"Was it that obvious?" Tom asked in embarrassment as he rubbed his neck.

"It was _very_ obvious, mateage" Charlie replied.

"Mateage?" Sydney asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Yeah, he likes to add 'age' to almost everything he says, its kind of stupid" Matt said as he shook his head and put his arm around Charlie's shoulders. "But we decided to let him into the band anyway.

"Gee, thanks" Charlie said as he rolled his eyes.

"Hey, it wasn't that 'age' thing that made us first notice you, it was also your caterpillar eyebrows" James said, causing everybody to laugh as they got on the bus.

* * *

"So, this is the mall" Sydney said as he spread his arms wide of the three floor mall.

"This is _definitely_ a mall!" Jacqui said as she looked around. "Ooh, they have the new Avril Lavigne CD!"

"Where?" Tom cried, Jacqui grabbed his arm and the two ran to the nearest FYE.

"Laser Tag now, or after we go shopping a little bit?" Rhuben asked Matt.

"Wait, how are we going to pay for this stuff, we don't have Australian money" Danny said suddenly. Rhuben playfully hit him on the forehead.

"It's called a Credit Card, dude, come with me and I'll show you how to spend it" she said and laughed.

"Like a date?" Danny asked, a hopeful look coming on his face.

"Wow, he really jumped back from Madison, fast" Harry said as he shook his head and headed towards FYE, Gen going with him.

"Keep dreaming" Rhuben said and she started to walk towards a GameStop.

"Where are you guys going to go?" Riley asked Dougie, Charlie, James, and Matt.

"I don't know" Dougie shrugged in reply. "Where are you going?"

"Where ever they are" Riley replied, pointing to her brothers who were looking around with wide eyes. "Which pretty much means that the first place we're going to go to is-"

"SWEET FACTORY!" Sydney shouted and sprinted across the mall to the candy shop. Patrick and Noah were close after him, shouting at the top of their lungs.

"There"

"Nah, I'm going to go to the GameStop and see what I can get for our game system at home." Charlie replied.

"Yeah, we'll come with you" James nodded and he, Dougie, and Matt followed Riley to the candy shop. Riley sighed as she watched her brothers run around, asking Matt what kind of candy they should get. "Penny for them?"

"Nah, I'm just thinking about stuff" Riley replied and gave a small smile. "But thanks for asking."

"Anytime" James replied and went to look at the candy too.

"What was that about?" Dougie asked from beside her. Riley crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against a bin of Gummy Bears.

"He just wanted to know what I was thinking about"

"What _are_ you thinking about?" Dougie asked with a teasing grin. "Besides me, I mean."

"Be serious" Riley said, nudging his shoulder with her own.

"I am" Dougie replied and took a deep breath. "Listen, there's something that I've been needing to tell you. You see, I-"

"Dude, let's get to laser tag already!" Matt interrupted, his hands twitching in anticipation. "I mean, they already have their candy." He said motioning to Patrick, Noah, and Sydney, who were carrying large bags of Sour Patch kids and Sour Gummy Worms.

"Hold on a second" Riley replied and then turned back to Dougie. "What were you saying?"

"Nothing, never mind" he replied.

"Kay, just let me get everybody else" Riley said and flipped open her cell phone.

* * *

"Eat artificial light Jay!" Rhuben cried as she shot his chest plate with her laser tag gun.

"DAMN!" Matt shouted as he had to wait to restart.

"DON'T SAY FORBIDDEN WORDS!" Sydney shouted from somewhere.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha" Rhuben laughed manically as she raced away to hide before anyone else could shoot her. She slowly crept along the dark wall, trying to see if she could shoot anybody else.

"Try not to keep your back turned!" Jacqui said and shot her in the back.

"Dammit, Jacqui, why don't you just go make out with Harry!" Rhuben shouted after her as Jacqui ran away.

"I will as soon as you admit that you like Danny!" Jacqui shouted back.

"What?"

Rhuben turned around and saw that Danny was about to shoot her, but his finger was hanging loosely on the trigger.

"Forget what she just said," Rhuben said quickly as she went to walk by him. "She's on crack or something, she just spurts out things that aren't true."

"Rhu, we have to talk about this" Danny said as he grabbed her arm.

"We're in the middle of a game here!" Rhuben snapped back.

"I want to know where I stand with you" Danny replied seriously. "Am I your friend or what?"

"Right now, you're my enemy" Rhuben said and shot him in the chest before running away.

* * *

**A/N: Here's a longer chapter for you guys. So, out of the things that Rhuben suggested, what do you want to see them do?**


	27. Chapter 26: Spring Break Pt3

**Chapter Twenty Six – Spring Break Pt.3**

"Ok Danny, your turn" Gen said as she tucked her lugs underneath her and stared pointedly at the curly haired boy. She grabbed a brush that was on the table in front of her and pulled it through her bed hair.

"Sure, let me think of something first" he said as he rested his head on his arms and stared at the ceiling. He looked at the front door as the Jacksons walked in through the front door, wiping their foreheads with towels.

"Oh geez, sorry guys, I forgot to mention that we were going out running this morning and that I would make breakfast later" Riley apologized.

"That's ok mateage, Tom made breakfast for us" Charlie said as he pointed to the stacks of plates that were on the table.

"But you can do the dishes for us" Dougie said and grinned.

"Well, you _are_ the guests, so we must treat you like royalties" Rhuben said as she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you must treat us like kings" Matt agreed and laughed, causing Rhuben to stick her tongue out at him in annoyance. Patrick laughed and pulled his towel off of his head, causing the others to gape at him.

"What?" he asked in an innocent tone.

"What did you do to your hair?" Jacqui asked as she ran over to him and inspected his head. She took a step back and grinned. "I like it, up top, dude!" she held up her hand and Patrick high-fived it, beaming with pride.

"What did you do?" Tom repeated.

"I dyed it blonde" Patrick replied as if it were obvious. "I think it's cool."

"Well, so do I" Harry said slowly as he tried not to laugh. "But here's a tip, the next time you dye your hair, dye your eyebrows too."

"Thanks, I should remember that" Patrick said and Sydney giggled as he pulled himself into Tom's lap.

"You remind me of Jesse McCartney when he first made the song 'Good Life'" Jacqui commented, causing Patrick to smile bigger.

"What have you guys been doing since we were out running?" Rhuben asked as she sat down on the floor next to Charlie and draped her towel around her shoulders.

"Well, besides eating a great breakfast from Tom," Gen said and kissed him on the cheek, causing Sydney to giggle as Tom blushed, "we've been playing 20 questions."

"And its Danny's turn" James added as the other sat down too.

"I've got one!" Danny declared, sitting up and pointing to Rhuben, who rolled her eyes.

"How did I know that this was going to do with me?" she asked, cocking her head to the side, her black hair falling over her shoulder.

"Because' he's obsessed" Charlie teased as he nudged her shoulder with his own. She gave a small smile in reply and turned to Danny, waiting for his question.

"What was the worst wipe out that you've ever had?" he asked.

"Wow, that's a surprise" Matt commented. "I was so _sure_ that he was going to ask why she always dumps him or something."

"You weren't the only one" James said as he shook his head. Rhuben looked at the ceiling in thought.

"I think we have it on a video actually" Riley said as she got up and walked over to the TV. She opened the cabinet that was underneath the TV and dozens and dozens of video tapes stared back at her. "Ah, here it is."

"I thought I told you to get rid of that!" Rhuben cried her eyes wide.

"You actually thought that we'd get rid of a good piece of blackmail? You must not know us well" Noah said and grabbed the remote to turn on the TV. Riley pushed the video into the video player and scooted back until she was sitting next to James, their backs resting against the couch.

"_Is the camera on?" Rhuben asked and the person who was holding the camera, most likely Riley from the height of the camera, nodded it. "Great." She beamed. "Now, I know that I've failed this trick every other time I tried, but I know I'm going to get it this time. So, without-"_

"_I'm tired Rhu-Rhu" Sydney, who looked about five, whined from the porch steps and the camera swung to him. He was sitting on the steps, his chin in his hands. Patrick and Noah, who looked about ten, were drawing on the sidewalk with chalk._

"_Well, you can at least wait until I land this jump" Rhuben snapped back._

"_Well __**excuse me**__!" Sydney pouted and a mad look crossed his face._

"_Rhu-Rhu, I seriously doubt you're going to make the jump this time" Patrick said as he stood up and brushed chalk off of his cheek._

"_Yeah, you've said that the last twenty times you've tried." Noah added._

"_Don't make me come over there!" Rhuben threatened as the camera panned back to her._

"_Come on Rhu, we have to hurry this up before dad gets home" Riley, who was holding the camera, sighed. Rhuben rolled her eyes and nodded. "Pat?"_

"_Ladies and gentlemen, we are here to watch Rhuben 'Midnight' Jackson, crash and burn __**once again**__-"_

"_PATRICK!"_

"_Fine, just go!" Patrick shouted. Rhuben turned and smiled at the camera again before backing up. She skated forward and jumped off the ramp, doing a back flip, but landed heavily on her side. "You see, I told you that you wouldn't do it!" Patrick shouted form off screen._

"_Shut up and get help!" Riley cried as the camera moved shakily, showing that she was running towards her sister._

"_Rhu-Rhu's going to die!" Sydney wailed from off screen._

"Yeah, you get the gist of it" Rhuben muttered as she turned off the TV. "Oh, you guys never told us what you wanted to do while you're here?"

"I mean, sure there's something we want to show you guys, when we're about to go back to school, but this vacation is about you, give or take the few times we might have to do something to promote our band." Sydney said as he stood up.

"Well, you said there was this thing called zorbing" Danny said as he put air quotes around the word. "What the hell is that? And why am I afraid of the looks on your faces?" he asked the Jacksons as they tried to keep smiles off their faces as if they didn't want to laugh.

"Oh, you'll find out" Jacqui said and she and Gen exchanged amused glances.

"Hey, where'd my beanie go? I had it on the table before I left" Riley said and started to look around frantically. As everybody started to laugh, James, who had her beanie in hand, slowly started to inch out of the room. "BOURNE, GET BACK HERE!" Riley shouted and started to run after him.

"No no no no no no no no no!" James shouted as he ran away, trying not to get tackled.

* * *

"Are you sure this thing isn't dangerous?" Dougie asked as he poked an inflatable ball, which the Jacksons and other Australians called a zorb. Riley laughed and put her arm around his waist.

"Would I ever put you in something that was potentially dangerous?" she asked sweetly. Dougie smirked in amusement.

"Only if you're trying to kill me."

"Well, this time we're not" Patrick said as he grabbed a zorb and held it still in the light wind. "Who's going first? All you have to do is crawl in through here and strap your arms, legs, and waist in the straps.

"I'll go first" Jacqui said, grinning. "This looks so much fun!" she said, looking down the hill that she was about to go down.

"You need someone else to go with you too" Rhuben said as she grabbed the hose that was lying on the ground.

"Dude, I'll totally do this!" Harry agreed.

"Aqua Zorb?" Rhuben asked as she held up a hose.

"What's the difference?" Charlie asked as he sat down on the grass and looked up at her. Rhuben smirked and turned the hose, spraying him with the water. "Ugh, stop it!"

"That's the difference" she smirked. "Either you're wet or you're dry."

"Yeah, well, I'm not going to be the only one who's wet" Charlie said and chased after Rhuben as she dropped the hose and ran away.

"So, Aqua Zorb or no?" Noah asked as he picked up the hose again.

"What do you think, Haz?" Jacqui asked Harry, who took of his shirt.

"I say we go for it, it's really hot out here anyway" He said and crawled into the zorb, Jacqui following him. Sydney crawled in after them to make sure that they were strapped in right.

"CHARLIE, LET ME GO!" Rhuben shouted.

Danny looked over his shoulder and shook his head as Charlie grabbed Rhuben around the waist and held her tight. He rolled his eyes and muttered curses under his breath as he waited for Sydney to push Jacqui and Harry down the hill.

"Are you up for this?" Riley asked Matt.

"Totally, dude, I'm _so_ up for this!" Matt declared in reply.

"Anybody whose waiting can play Frisbee or something" Riley said as she pulled away from Dougie and went to her backpack. She pulled out a large Frisbee and tossed it at James' head. "Duck!" she called teasingly.

"Nice try!" He shouted back as he caught the Frisbee.

"Ok guys, I'm going to bring the zorb back up so someone else can go" Patrick said and he and Noah raced down the hill to get Jacqui and Harry out of the zorb.

"Hey guys, come here" Gen said and pulled Tom and Danny back away from the others.

"What's up?" Danny asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I think that we should try and force Dougie and Riley together." Gen said, her eyes flashing with excitement.

"Why try to force it?" Tom asked as he looked over at the two, who were throwing the Frisbee around with Matt and James. "I think that Dougie is about ready to tell her himself."

"Wait, when did he admit that he liked her?" Gen asked in shock.

"You may be the little matchmaker, but you've got to keep up with the gossip" Danny laughed. Tom frowned and wrapped his arms around Gen's waist protectively.

"Hey, there's no need to be mean to my little cupid" he said and kissed her cheek.

"Wow, having a steady girlfriend has made you really sickening" Danny said as he made a face. "Although I must admit that you guys are perfect for each other. You do know that Jake will wonder about the magazines and stuff."

"We'll worry about that when it comes to it" Tom replied. "Besides, I think that since Jake was the one that made us come to this school, he owes us something."

"True mate, true" Danny said and high-fived Tom.

"Dude, you guys seriously have to try that! It's awesome!" Harry declared as he and Jacqui walked up the hill. Well, Jacqui kind of stumbled up the hill as James and Matt got into the zorb.

"Yeah, so much fun" Jacqui said and stumbled, falling to the ground, giggling like crazy.

"Are you on crack or something?" Harry asked as he helped her to her feet.

"That's what all of us think" Gen said as she rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm not on crack" Jacqui hugged as she crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. Harry grinned.

"Great, then would you like to go out tomorrow night?" he asked her. Jacqui couldn't help but let a loud scream tear from her lips. She held her hands over her mouth, embarrassed. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Now all we have to do is get Danny and Rhuben and Dougie and Riley together" Gen said as her smile grew wider.

"Good luck" Tom commented as he nodded over to Rhuben who was getting into a zorb with Charlie and James, who was chasing Riley around as Dougie watched them, his arms folded across his chest, a serious look on his face.

* * *

**A/N: Next chapter is going to be centered on DannyxRhuben and DougiexRiley**


	28. Chapter 27: Spring Break Pt4

**A/N: This chapter is CharliexRhubenxDanny and JamesxRileyxDougie centered chapter. Its longer than the recent chapters because I'm starting to go through the morning, afternoon, and night.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Seven – Spring Break Pt.4**

**MORNING**

"Guys, breakfast is ready!" Riley shouted as she dumped water into a pitcher and started to squish the frozen orange juice.

"Good Morning!" Dougie shouted as he walked into the kitchen. He screamed and jumped back as Riley looked up at him.

"What?" she asked confused.

"Since when did you wear glasses?" he asked, walking closer to her. She shrugged and took them off to clean them on the bottom of her shirt.

"I've always had them, I just never needed them until I ran out of contacts." She replied. Dougie laughed and took them out of her hands.

"How much can you see?" he asked, holding the glasses out of her reach.

"Not much, I'm near sighted" Riley said and squinted, reaching for her glasses. "Give them back, I can't see."

"Maybe I should get closer then" Dougie said and placed his hands on her waist, and moved his face close to hers. He smirked when he felt her shudder.

"Are we interrupting something?" Patrick asked with a grin as he and Noah walked into the kitchen. Riley grabbed her glasses from Dougie's hands and quickly put them back on, taking a step away from Dougie.

"No, he was just threatening to break my glasses" Riley replied dryly. "That reminds me, Pat, Noah, your doctor's appointment is tomorrow."

"Got it" Noah nodded in reply and helped Sydney into his chair before sitting down himself. He bit into a piece of toast and grunted a greeting to the rest of his friends and family as they came into the kitchen. His eyes lit up as Julius entered the kitchen in a rush. "Julius, today can we-"

"Sorry, I'm really busy, I have to meet a group of friends to talk about college and stuff, bye!" he cried and kissed his siblings on the head before running out the front door. Patrick, Noah, and Sydney sighed heavily and slumped in their seats. Riley glanced at her sister and nodded towards their brothers. Rhuben grinned and nodded back.

"Hey guys, how about we go to Paragon today" she suggested. Sydney's eyes widened and he started to choke on the toast that was in his mouth.

"Chew and swallow, Syd" Tom said as he thumped the small boy on the back. Sydney nodded and chugged his cup full of orange juice. "That's better."

"If I didn't know better, I would say that Tom was Sydney's older brother, not Julius" James said as he raised and eyebrow.

"I noticed that too" Charlie agreed and furrowed his eyebrows together. "Anyway," he turned to Rhuben. "What's Paragon?"

"Yeah, it sounds like a medication for some kind of weird disease" Danny agreed as he made a face. Rhuben chuckled and rubbed her eyes.

"No, Paragon is this gymnastics training center that Sydney likes to go to. It helps keep you graceful and it's a great way for us to be able to do flips and stuff for our dance routines." She said as she leaned back in her chair.

"Sounds fun" Jacqui declared.

"Yeah, I say we should all go" Gen agreed.

"Well, we have a press conference thing later tonight, but we should be fine by them" Tom said and nodded.

"Great, we should go there by twelve" Riley said as she looked at her watch. "It's 10:25 now. But twelve is better, that's when there's less kids there, and we don't have to worry about running them over."

"Yay! We're going to Paragon!" Sydney shouted, waving his arms around happily.

"Hey Ri-Ri, could you help me with this?" Patrick asked and handed her a whipped cream can that he was trying to spray onto his waffles.

"Streaky bacon head- with two colours in her hair" Dougie suddenly exclaimed as he stabbed a piece of bacon that on his plate. Everybody stopped eating and looked at him, but he continued on eating.

"Now, when you say _I'm_ batty, are you comparing me to him?" Matt asked his band mates as he jerked his thumb in Dougie's direction.

"No need" Rhuben replied and smirked at Matt glared at her.

"Wow, this thing is plugged tight" Riley said and set the whipped cream on the table. She reached back and grabbed a pair of scissors off of the counter. Sydney spat out a mouthful of sausage and reached for the whipped cream can.

"RI-RI, DON'T!" He shouted, but was too late. Riley sawed off the top part of the whipped cream can and the can imploded, sending the whipped cream flying everywhere.

"Whoah!" James shouted, pushing away from the table, almost falling backwards out of his chair.

"Bloody hell" Charlie and Matt cried and shielded their faces with their arms.

"I _told_ you not to" Sydney said in a sing song voice.

"That was _awesome!" _Danny cried and he and Harry high-fived.

"Do you have another one?" Jacqui asked as she scooped some whipped cream off of the table and ate it. Rolling her eyes, Gen scooped up a handful of whipped cream and tossed it into her face.

"Hey, there's still some left in it!" Riley cried and shook the can, accidentally spraying Tom, who was sitting across from her, in the face. "Well, not anymore."

* * *

"Ok, you need to place your fingers on the E, D, and B strings." Charlie said as he took Rhuben's left hand and placed it on the neck of the acoustic guitar. "Then you strum the strings, all except the top two."

Rhuben turned the black guitar pick that was in her right hand and strummed the strings that she was instructed to, making a face as it made a dull 'thunk' sound. Charlie laughed quietly.

"Don't worry, that's what it always sounds like when you first try the guitar, I bet that's what Riley and Patrick did when they first started to play" he said helpfully.

"No, they're whizzes at it, which doesn't make any sense as to why I can't play" Rhuben sighed. "But that also _does_ make sense of why I had to fake knowing how to play it. I _curse_ this instrument."

"Well, its like playing the drums, but you don't have a drumstick, and you actually have to strum it" Charlie replied as he shrugged and smiled.

"That was stupid" Rhuben commented as she tried to play the chord again. Laughing again, Charlie moved behind Rhuben and re-positioned her hands. A serious look crossing over his face, he leaned towards her. Just as their lips were about the touch, the door burst open and Danny jumped into the room.

"Guys we're going to- am I interrupting something?" he asked, knowing fully well that he was.

"I was just teaching her how to play the guitar" Charlie replied patiently as he sat on his heels. A confused look crossed Danny's face and he opened his mouth to ask. "Long story, don't want to bore you with the details."

"Right" Danny whispered, looking away. "Anyway, we're going to Paragon now so...yeah." he backed out of the room, a weird expression on his face.

"Wow, that's wasn't awkward" Rhuben said sarcastically as she got off the floor and handed Charlie his acoustic guitar. "Anyway, thanks for teaching me, well, trying to teach me, how to play the guitar."

"It's no problem, mateage" Charlie replied quickly. "In fact, I could, uh, keep teaching you if you want. Like, we could talk about it tonight, at dinner?"

"D'you mean like a date?" Rhuben asked, pulling her strand of purple hair behind her ear.

"Yeah" Charlie replied shyly. Rhuben smiled.

"Sounds great" she replied quietly. Charlie grinned in reply, causing Rhuben to smile bigger.

* * *

**AFTERNOON**

"What do you guys want to do first, there's a loose foam pit," Patrick said, pointing to one corner. "There's a foam pit right there, a rock climbing wall, balance beams, bars, a sumo wrestling thing, an inflatable bungee run, and a inflatable obstacle course."

"I want to try a back flip, I'm still kind of shaky when it comes to it" Sydney replied as he pulled off his shoes and socks. "Noah, will you be my spotter?"

"Sure" Noah replied and pulled off his shoes and socks. He bent his knees and placed a hand on Sydney's shoulder. "Ok, when you get to the height of your jump, bring your arms to your knees quickly and then I'll guide you over in a circle."

"Got it" Sydney replied, nodding enthusiastically. The others sat down on the floor, watching Noah and Sydney.

"Ok, so I'm going to say up, and that's when you'll go up on your toes, like a cheerleader, and then when I say jump, that's when you jump" Noah said and Sydney nodded again. "Ok, 1, 2, 3, up, 1, 2, 3, jump"

Sydney completed the back flip, with Noah guiding him, with ease. He landed on his feet and stumbled a little bit, but was grinning ecstatically. "Thanks Noah" he grinned.

"No problem" Noah replied and hugged his brother. He turned to the others. "What do you guys want to do?"

"FOAM PIT!" Jacqui shouted and ran along the strip of trampoline and did a cannon ball into the loose foam pit.

Patrick, Noah, and Sydney raced towards the obstacle course. Dougie, Rhuben, Danny, Charlie, and Matt went to the bungee run. Tom, Gen, and Harry headed towards the loose foam pit, and Riley and James went to the rock wall. Riley pulled the harness for the rock wall up around her waist, and pulled down her t-shirt, so it wouldn't get caught. She looked at James and burst out laughing. He looked up and flicked his blonde/brown hair out of his face, looking at her curiously.

"I never knew that you were really that tanned" she commented pointing to his upper thigh, which had been shown because of the harness. "You're supposed to pull your pants legs down as soon as you get into the harness, to make sure that doesn't happen." She replied and grabbed onto the first hand hold and started to climb up the wall.

"Well, you could have told me that before" James replied as he climbed up behind her.

"Nah, it wouldn't have been as funny" Riley replied and cursed when her foot slipped and she hit her leg on one of the handholds. "Damn, that hurt" she stated, leaning back to look at it.

"You ok?" James asked as he continued to climb up the wall.

"Perfectly fine, it's not like I haven't climbed this wall before" Riley replied as she pushed her feet off of the rock wall and used her upper body strength to pull herself up.

"Is there anything you don't know how to do?" James asked, gasping for air. "I mean, you're part of a famous band, you can do practically any sport on the earth, and you have good friends."

"Yeah, there is one thing I don't know how to do" Riley muttered as she stopped climbing. "Apart from my siblings, I don't know how to love, and I don't think I'll ever learn how to."

"Then how about tonight you take a chance and try?" James asked her.

"Meaning?" Riley asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Want to go to the movies?" James asked as he flicked his hair out of his face. "You know, like a date?"

"Sure" Riley replied and her eyes quickly shot down and then back up to his face, she was smirking. "By the way, next time you need to make sure you're harnessed in correctly." She reached out and jerked the cable that was attached to his harness, and James lost his balance and slowly fell back to the floor. "Gotcha" she smirked and continued to climb to the top.

* * *

"What are you guys doing?" Tom asked as he watched Sydney run forward on the strip of trampoline, take a small jump, and flip over a large mat.

"We're having a trick contest" Matt replied. "Person who does the best trick gets to choose what we do tomorrow. And I'm going to win."

"Ha, I _doubt_ it" Riley said as she placed a hand on his chest and pushed him backwards. "Let a pro deal with this"

"Whoo, you go girl!" Dougie cheered, from where he was sitting on the side of the trampoline with Gen and Jacqui.

"Thanks Doug" Riley grinned at him and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She waited until she was sure that Sydney wasn't on the other side of the mat before running down the strip of trampoline. She jumped right in front of it and did a triple front flip over the mat. "Beat that Mattie" she declared as she mused his hair. Matt slapped her hands away, although he was smiling.

"I'll try at least," he replied. "You have an unfair advantage because you're a professional."

"I know" Riley smiled sweetly in reply and gave Dougie a high-five. "Hey, can I talk to you about something?" she asked him.

"Sure" Dougie replied and stood up. The others hardly paid attention as they went to the bungee run and sat on the end of it. "What's up?"

"You're my best friend and you know that I will tell you anything right?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, what's wrong Riles, you're starting to scare me" Dougie said and chuckled a little bit.

"I wanted to let you know that James asked me out and I said yes" Riley replied and Dougie looked down at his hands. "Are you ok with that?"

"Yeah, its totally fine, as long as you're happy" Dougie replied. Riley narrowed her eyes when she saw Dougie's nostrils flare, meaning that he was lying but nodded wordlessly.

* * *

**NIGHT**

"Hey, are you doing anything right now?" Danny asked Tom, Harry, and Dougie, who were sitting in the game room, playing Fifa.

"Yep" Tom and Harry replied furiously pressing buttons on the Xbox controller. Danny shrugged and turned off the TV. "Mate, you have ten seconds to turn that back on before you die."

"No, we have something more important to do" Danny replied.

"And that is?" Harry asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"We're going to spy on Rhuben's and Charlie's date" Danny replied.

"Wait a second, since when are Rhuben and Charlie going on a date?" Tom asked. Harry nodded.

"Yeah and how do you know?" he added.

"You're jealous aren't you?" Dougie asked a grin on his face.

"Apparently since this morning," Danny replied pointing to Tom. "I know because I heard Jacqui, Gen, Riley, and Rhuben talking about it. And I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't jealous."

"Danny, why don't you just leave her alone, let her be happy?" Tom asked.

"Because I know that Charlie doesn't like her as much as I do, and its also considering the fact that she knows how I feel about her and she's going out with him anyway." Danny replied.

"I'm taking a guess that you're not going to let us say no" Harry sighed.

"Exactly" Danny replied.

* * *

"I don't see why you guys are making such a big deal about this" Rhuben sighed as Gen brushed Rhuben's hair, and Jacqui looked at the make up to see which would work best. "It's just Charlie."

"Yes, but its Charlie from Busted, one of the hottest guys on the planet, and he thinks you're hot" Gen replied.

"Actually, he thinks she's more than hot" Jacqui giggled. "I can tell from the look on his face when he sees you. It's a Hey-Rhuben-you-so-fine-you-so-fine-you-blow-my-mind look. I know that he wants him some Rhuben."

"Is she a collector's item or something?" Riley asked in monotone.

"Apparently both of you are if _you're_ going out with James tonight too" Gen said, giving her a pointed look in the mirror. "Does Dougie know about this?"

"I already talked to him about it." Riley replied. "What's that look supposed to mean?"

"You do know that he like, loves you right?" Jacqui asked, turning away from the mirror.

"Who, Dougie?"

"Yes! Dougie!" Rhuben snapped back.

"If that were true, then why would he agree to me going on a date with James?" Riley asked, raising her eyebrows. "Ever think of that?"

"Because he wants you to be happy" Gen replied quietly. "Rhu, are you ready to go?" Charlie asked as he poked his head into the doorway.

"Yeah, let me just get my shoes" Rhuben replied and grabbed her black vans. "So, what d'you think?"

"You look great" Charlie offered and grinned.

Rhuben had her hair down her shoulders. Jacqui had smudged some eyeliner and eye shadow around her eyes, which made her blue eyes look brighter. She was wearing a purple t-shirt under a black dress with a denim skirt and gray leggings.

"Thanks so do you" Rhuben replied.

Charlie was wearing a black coat over a red dressy shirt with a black tie over it and black pants with white shoes.

"Thanks, we'll see you later guys" Charlie said and he and Rhuben left the house. Shortly afterwards, Danny, Harry, and Tom tried to sneak by the open door.

"I'm taking a guess that you're going to go spy on them" Gen said as she leaned against the doorway.

"Pretty much" Tom agreed.

"Hold on, we're coming with you" Jacqui replied.

* * *

"Ouch, get your foot out of my face!" Jacqui hissed as Danny hit her in the face. He turned around and shushed her as he continued to crawl through the bushes.

"Can we go now? We've been following them since they left the restaurant" Harry said as he brushed his hands on his knees. "People have things to do you know."

"Yeah, like masturbate" Tom said and elbowed Harry in the side, knocking him over.

"Would you guys shut up?" Danny hissed and poked his head out of the bush that the group of them were sitting in. "I'm trying to-"

"What?" Gen asked, nudging him in the side. "Why'd you sop?"

"He just kissed her" Danny breathed as he turned around and sat down in the dirt. "He just kissed her."

"No way!" Jacqui declared. "That 6ft 4 giant of sexiness kissed her?"

"Hey!" Harry cried, offended.

"Just stating a fact" Jacqui replied defensively.

"Dan, are you ok?" Tom asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Danny shrugged him off and got up, brushing off the seat of his pants.

"I will be" he replied before walking away.


	29. Chapter 28: Spring Break Pt5

**Chapter Twenty Eight: Spring Break Pt.5**

"MOMMY! MOMMY! DON'T GO MOMMY!"

With a start, Julius sat up and listened to the screams that ripped through the house. He leapt out of his bed and threw his bedroom door open. He pushed past McFly, Busted, and Gen and Jacqui, who had stumbled into the hall, sleepily, and ran into Sydney's room. Sydney was sitting up in his bed, his eyes clenched shut, tears falling down his cheeks, clutching his duvet tightly in both hands. Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, and Noah were standing around the bed, all looking dazed, and covering their ears.

"Syd, Syd, its ok" Julius said soothingly as he lifted his baby brother out of the bed. Sydney opened his eyes and started to cry harder as he held tightly onto Julius and his siblings backed out of the room.

"What's going on?" Charlie asked, placing a hand on Rhuben's shoulder.

"Syd just had a nightmare, it hasn't happened for a while, but when he does, they're really bad ones, which is why he screams when he wakes up" She replied. "He'll be fine, but I suggest not bringing it up again because he's really sensitive about things like that."

"Well, if he's ok then" Gen said, her worried frown still on her face.

"You two, back to bed, you still have your doctor's appointment tomorrow" Riley said as she put her hands on Patrick's and Noah's shoulders and walked them to the direction of their bedroom.

"Good night" Charlie whispered to Rhuben and kissed her cheek. Rhuben gave a small smile back, ignoring Danny's frown, and watched as Charlie walked back into the room that he and James were sharing. Everybody else went back to their rooms, Gen and Tom started to follow them, but Julius called their names, stopping them in their tracks.

"Can I talk to you guys for a minute?" he asked quietly. Sydney was now asleep in his arms, holding onto Julius' shoulder, snoring softly.

"What's up?" Tom asked rubbing his shoulder.

"Well, I want you guys to know something. The reason that my siblings have been acting so weird lately is because they don't want me to go off to college and leave them, although they were the ones who told me that they wanted me to go." Julius sighed and smiled down at his brother. "Anyway, I know how much Sydney is attached to you two and I wanted to know if you would help take care of him while I'm gone."

"Yeah, that would be fine." Gen smiled softly and nodded.

"You know that we would do anything to make sure that Syd is ok" Tom nodded in agreement. "The rest of your siblings too."

"Yeah, I know that" Julius agreed and nodded. "Night guys"

* * *

"You may push me around, but you can not win. You may throw me down, but I'll rise again. The more you say, the more I'll defy you, so get out of my face." Rhuben sang to herself as she shakily strummed the guitar that was in her hands.

"What, no second verse?" Rhuben turned her head and smiled as Charlie sat down next to her on the grass. "What are you doing?"

"Just practicing a bit of our new song before breakfast" Rhuben replied as she looked down at the guitar. "Why?"

"I was just wondering where you went, you seemed kind of quiet after what happened early this morning. Then again, I don't blame you considering we woke up again just an hour ago." Charlie pointed out as he stared at her. Rhuben's face turned stony as she stared down at the street in front of her house.

"I was thinking about how Patrick and Noah have a doctor's appointment today" she replied and took a deep breath before continuing. "I mean, since we hid being abused for so long, and even most of our fans don't know, we always were paranoid when it comes to doctor visits. So I guess I'm still worried about it."

"There's no need t worry, your brother is here to take care of you guys until he goes off to college. And when he leaves, I'll take care of you" Charlie said and smiled as he pushed Rhuben's strand of purple hair out of her eyes. Rhuben smiled slightly and bowed her head. "Ah, there's that smile I was looking for."

"Shut up!" Rhuben laughed, her cheeks turning red. "But thanks"

"No problem" Charlie said and moved forward, capturing her lips in a kiss. Rhuben let got of the guitar and placed her hands on Charlie's shoulders as she kissed him back. She didn't have to worry about her brothers.

Not at that moment.

Charlie had a thoughtful look on his face, which Rhuben noticed, as he pulled away from the kiss. "What?" Rhuben asked him curiously.

"I was just wondering…do you have any feelings for Danny?" Charlie asked and Rhuben blinked at him. "I know it's kind of a random question, but I wanted to know."

"What makes you think that I have feelings for him?" She asked as calmly as she could. Charlie shrugged and rubbed his neck nervously.

"I don't know, I guess the way that he looks at you kind of makes me uncomfortable." He replied. Rhuben smiled sweetly, and it was a genuine smile.

"You don't have to worry about that, I don't like Danny as much as I like you" she said and kissed him sweetly. "Now, either Riley is PMSing, of its time for breakfast."

"Either way, she'd be yelling at everybody for no reason" Charlie laughed and got to his feet, before taking Rhuben's hands and helping her up too. Together, they walked into the house and sat down at the kitchen table, just as Julius, Patrick, and Noah walked out the door.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Riley called after them.

"We'll eat as soon as we get back!" Julius called back to her. "Love you!"

"Love you, too!" Riley, Rhuben, and Sydney shouted back. Jacqui smiled teasingly as she dumped Frosted Flakes into her large cereal bowl.

"Make sure Charlie doesn't feel too lonely because of that" she teased and Charlie smiled back.

"No worries there mateage" he said and winked at Rhuben, who blushed and bowed her head.

"Please, not while I'm eating" Matt grumbled through a mouthful of cereal.

"At least he can _get_ someone to like him" Riley shot back and smirked. "I haven't seen you with anybody ever since you got here."

Matt glared at Riley, seeming to be angrier than he usually would be at her jabs. "Well what about you? I know that you haven't told Dougie _or_ James about the ex-boyfriends that won't stop calling you!" He grunted in pain as Riley kicked him in the leg.

Dougie and James glanced at each other before continuing with their breakfast in silence. They hadn't said much to each other since James and Riley went out on the first date and since Riley knew that Dougie wasn't ok with the date in the first place, she never mention anything about it to him. And now here Matt was purposely trying to make things worse between the three of them.

"Uh, can we talk about something else, I don't want to eat while you gouge each other's eyes out" Harry said nervously.

"Well, as soon as Julius, Patrick, and Noah get back there's somewhere that we want to take you guys" Sydney said, gauging his sister's reactions before continuing. "We think that it's fine for you to get to know us a little better."

"Can you tell us where you're going to take us?" Gen asked.

"Not at this time, no" Sydney replied, shaking his head and then frowned. "Sorry. But I can make it up to you by letting you beat me at video games"

"Deal" Gen declared and ticked Sydney under the ribs, causing him to jerk away, giggling.

"Well, after breakfast we're going to go running if any of you want to join us" Riley said as she picked at the cereal that was in her bowl. She looked up and flicked her head, to get her bangs out of her face. "But if not you can just chill here."

"Hey, that's when we can find out what's in those rooms" Danny whispered to Tom, who had a guilty look on his face.

"I don't know, I don't think that it's a good idea" he whispered back. "What if they get really mad because we invaded their privacy?"

"All the more reason to do it" Danny insisted.

"Wow, you must really want your ass kicked" Harry, who was listening, whispered, shaking his head.

"Either that or he just wants the attention" Tom replied and smirked slightly as he saw Danny glance over at Rhuben and Charlie before looking down at the bowl in his hands.

"Hey, I'll go running with you guys" Dougie spoke up suddenly. "Granted its probably going to be a slow run, but I need the exercise."

"You sure?" Rhuben asked, raising her eyebrows in shock.

"Yeah, totally" Dougie nodded in reply.

"Ok, maybe there are some sweats that Julius has that you can borrow," Sydney said and then frowned. "if they don't fall off you."

"Trust me, from all the girls that go running through the park, that's not going to be a bad thing" Riley said and the others burst out laughing.

* * *

"How long have they been gone?" Danny asked as he tried to pick the lock on the locked door with a paper clip.

"They've been gone for over twenty minuets, dude" Charlie replied. "And I seriously don't think that it's a good idea to invade their privacy like that."

"Well excuse _me_ for wanting to know something your girlfriend isn't telling us!" Danny shot bak as he stood up and faced Charlie with a challenging look on his face.

"Knock it off, Dan" Gen said as she rubbed her temples.

"I don't feel right about this, guys" Jacqui agreed as she looked around. "I mean, I want to know as much as you guys do, but it's the fact that if they find out, you know that they're going to be extremely pissed off."

"Too late, I got the door open" Danny replied and opened the door wider and walked inside. Tom, Harry, Gen, Jacqui, Charlie, James, and Matt cautiously followed him into the room. "Jeez, its just another bedroom."

"I wonder why they wanted to keep _this_ a secret" Tom muttered, rubbing his neck.

"This explains it" Gen said as she picked a picture frame up off the table and looked it over.

"What, that's either Riley or Rhuben with some other dude" Danny said as he looked at it.

"Not its not, mateage" James said as he took the picture and stared at it. "That's their mom and dad."

"But, I thought that Robert was their father." Matt said in confusion.

"Adopted father, obviously" Gen replied and put the picture down. "Now I _really_ don't feel good being here. Let's go."

"Why would it matter, you've already learned more about us than you ever needed to." Riley said coolly as she walked into the bedroom, causing everybody to whip their heads to the doorway in shock and fear. Rhuben and even Sydney were glaring fiercely, and when Sydney was mad, his eyes seemed to turn a shade darker, now they were like a navy blue, and you never wanted him mad at you. Riley grabbed the picture frame off of the dresser and tossed it onto the bed. "Get your shoes on, Julius, Patrick, and Noah are going to be here soon."

She turned and left the room with her siblings.

"You know the scariest part of that" Jacqui said softly, as if she was about to cry. "The fact that Sydney seemed to be as pissed as Riley and Rhuben."

* * *

"Are we almost there?" Dougie asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, we're almost there" Noah muttered as he shoved his hands into his pockets and bent his head towards the ground as the Jackson led the others down the streets of Sydney. The others walked behind them, guilted into silence.

"I _knew_ that it was a bad idea to go in there" James muttered. "I don't know why, but whenever I'm around you, Tom, something bad always happens."

"You can't possibly put the blame on me!" Tom replied, his eyes widening.

"Hey, its no one's fault here, we all went in there, and now we all have to face the consequences" Harry replied and then paused. "But if it comes to us being tortured, I'm not going first."

"We're here" Riley said shortly and pulled open the door of a building and waited for everybody to go in, making sure they didn't see the name of the building. She walked over to the front desk and rang the bell that was sitting on the desk. An blonde women who was in her Fourties came out from the back room and looked at them curiously.

"Sydney Orphanage, how may I help you?" she asked. Riley gave a small smile, ignoring the gasp from Dougie.

"Hey Helen, remember me?" she asked.

"Should I…remember you?" Helen asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"D'you remember me?" Sydney asked, pushing to the front of the line and looked up at her with his big blue eyes.

"Sydney?" she whispered and he nodded. "But…that means that the rest of you are-"

"Yeah, it's Rikku, Rumiku, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney" Rhuben nodded. "But I don't go by Rumiku anymore. We're here visiting today. We wanted our friends to know that we used to live here."

"Well, go on in, the kids are there and they love having visitors" Helen said and smiled. "It's good to see you all again."

"It's good to see you too" Noah nodded and they walked into the large room where the kids were supposed to play.

* * *

"So, you guys used to live here" Dougie said to Riley as he stood next to her, watching Patrick, Noah, and Sydney run around with the young orphans, some they knew, others they didn't.

"We wouldn't be here if I hadn't lived here before" Riley replied.

"Don't you mean you wouldn't be her if you weren't so pissed at the others?" Dougie asked and grinned when Riley smiled slightly.

"You know me too well" she said, shaking her head.

"Well, we _are_ best friends" Dougie replied seriously. "And if we are, I should know you that well. And you should also know that I'm going to be there for you, no matter what."

"I know, thanks for that, dude" Riley smiled and gave him a light hug.

"Riley, can I talk to you for a minute?" James asked as he walked up the two, his eyes on Dougie.

"Yeah, sure" Riley said and walked into a empty corner with him. "What do want?"

"I wanted to apologize for what we did." James said. "I didn't want to go into the room, but I was also kind of curious and-"

"You don't need to worry about it dude, I've been meaning to come back here anyway" Riley said as she looked around at her old home. "It lets me know how lucky I am that I got adopted, even if it was by a bad person." She took a step forward and kissed his cheek. "But you should have seen the looks on your faces when we came into the room." She said and smiled teasingly.

"Hey, it's not our fault" James replied and laughed. "You guys are an intimidating family."

"You can thank my mom and dad for that though." Riley replied bitterly.

* * *

"You know I'm really sorry about what happened, right?" Charlie asked as he put a hand on Rhuben's shoulder.

"I know" Rhuben replied as she sat down on the floor.

"Well, what's wrong?"

"Just thinking about what it was like when I lived here" Rhuben replied and frowned. "It wasn't that long ago, and that really scares me. What scares me the most is that I sometimes think when Julius goes off to college I have to come back here."

"You don't have to. You have me and McFly, and James, and Matt, and Jacqui, and Gen, and the rest of your siblings who will take care of you." Charlie muttered and hugged her to him.

"I know, but it still scares me" Rhuben muttered and buried her face into the crook of his neck.


	30. Chapter 29: Spring Break Pt6

**A/N: This chapter is a continuation from the day before and it's the next day too. Oh and the game that they play in this chapter, is what Seniors at our school do at the Perch, which is the last fun field trip we take before they graduate. It's really fun. I know its kind or short, but I wanted something humorous to happen before I got to the last part of Spring Break, which is going to be filled with CharliexRhubenxDanny drama.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Nine – Spring Break Pt.6**

"So it was shortly after our parents died, like, Fourty minuets later, we were sent here." Rhuben sighed as she brushed her hair back away from her face. She and Riley were telling McFly, Busted, Jacqui, and Gen about what it was like when they were living in the orphanage "You'd think from the look of it, they treated us right. But they didn't have enough food for a lot of us." She looked over at her brothers, who were sitting on the ground, telling stories to other orphans and Riley picked up on the story.

"We knew that Sydney was the weakest one out of all of us at such a young age," she said, looking down at her hands. "And we knew that it would be a easy way for him to get really bad if he got sick, so Rhuben and I didn't eat much and gave what we did have to eat to give to Sydney. We lived here for about…two years until we found out that someone wanted to adopt us."

"You mean-"Rhuben cut James off.

"Yeah, it was Robert who wanted to adopt us" She nodded. "Which was a surprise in itself. Riley and I seemed to unconsciously push people who wanted to adopt us, away from us."

"Yeah, because nobody knew how depressed we were, Rhuben and I took out our anger on the people that wanted to adopt us, so they didn't want us. But when we figured out that Robert wanted to adopt us anyway, we were really shocked and jumped at the chance to finally be loved again. But he only wanted to adopt us for our inheritance from our mom and dad."

"And you know how the rest goes." Riley said, finally looking up at her friends, shocked to see that they looked really sad. "Hey…you don't have to look like that…we're fine now."

"Yeah, stop looking so mopey." Rhuben agreed and then looked at her watch. "Whoa, we've been here all day, let's go home."

"Pat, Noah, Syd, come on" Riley called to her brothers.

"You know, I'm really surprised that they can be so calm about this" Danny muttered to Tom, who shook his head.

"I don't think they're completely over it." He muttered back. "Something like that is traumatic, and you can't get over it as fast as they're leading on."

"Either way, they're good at lying."

"Do we have to?" Sydney asked in a whiny tone.

"Yes, we do" Rhuben replied as she placed her hands on her hips and stared at her brothers. Patrick and Noah immediately ran over to her sister, afraid that she would give her famous death glare soon after.

"It was good to see you again, Lily, sorry you haven't been adopted yet" Sydney said to the little blonde girl that he was talking to as he got to his feet. "But I promise I'll come back and see you again."

'Lily' smiled and the two hugged each other. She kissed Sydney's cheek as he turned to go. Sydney's face was red as he went back to his siblings, muttering 'say one word and I'll kill you' under his breath.

Everybody walked outside of the orphanage and started to walk home, when Patrick and Noah started to tease their baby brother. Riley slowed down a few steps and walked next to Dougie .She cocked her head to the side as he didn't acknowledge that she was there and poked him in the side, causing him to jump.

"What'd you do that for?" Dougie asked as he finally looked at her.

"You seem totally bummed dude, what's up?" Riley asked him and he shrugged silently. "I know that something's wrong, there's no point in hiding it from me."

"Nothing's wrong, just thinking" he replied. "About my mum and Jazzie, I have to call them soon."

"Ok, whatever, anyway, I wanted to talk to you about James."

"Your dating habits is none of my-"

"We're just going to stay friends." Riley interrupted him and then continued at the shocked look on Dougie's face. "We realized that we only like being friends, besides, don't tell Rhuben this, but they're leaving at the end of the school year to go on tour, so we thought that it wouldn't be a good idea to have a long distance relationship where there are so many temptations."

"Oh, that's great…I think. Wait, why don't you want me to mention it to Rhuben?" Dougie asked confused.

"Because Charlie doesn't know how to tell Rhuben about it yet." Riley replied and then stopped walking, looking behind her. "Uh guys, how fast can you run?"

"Why?" Jacqui asked warily.

"Well, because there's this weird neighbor that we have who likes to sic his dogs on people who are walking by his house. And guess who he decided to sic them on this time?"

"Say no more!" Charlie declared and they started to sprint back to the Jacksons' house.

* * *

**The Next Day**

"Ok, are you guys ready?" Sydney asked as he sat down in front of his laptop.

"Yeah" the others replied. James, Charlie, and Matt sat down on the floor beside Sydney and the others sat on the couches and the chairs, glancing at each other.

"Ok, who wants to go first?" Noah asked and then laughed as the girls and the boys started to shout back and forth at each other to decide who would go first.

"How about the guys go first" Sydney sighed, annoyed. McFly groaned as they got off of the couch and stood in front of the TV at the front of the room.

"Ready?" Tom asked his band mates, who nodded and then started to clap a tune and then started to chant/sing.

"We love our girls, and that's no lie, we love our girls, and this is why" they sang in unison and Tom stepped forward.

"Jacqui Guhl," he stated and then grinned as everybody waited expectantly. "You're obsessed with hot guys, quite frankly it's really annoying. But that doesn't mean that you should stop, because your life is _way_ too boring."

"Ohh!" Matt cried as he held his hand over his open mouth. James, Charlie, Riley, Rhuben, and Gen laughed as the boys started to clap again.

"We love our girls, and that's no lie, we love our girls, and this is why" they sang in unison and Dougie stepped forward.

"Gen Charlier. With all your friends, you're a matchmaker. But when it comes to singing, you're a big faker."

"Wow, he's going to die" James stated when he saw the pissed off look on Gen's face. But then a smile bloomed across her lips and she laughed lightly.

"We love our girls, and that's no lie, we love our girls, and this is why" the boys sang and Danny stepped forward.

"Riley Jackson. You're very scary, but also very smart. The only thing that you deny is that Dougie's stolen your heart."

Riley placed her face in her hands as Dougie's face turned red and he turned away. The others laughed and jeered at the two teenagers, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney especially, and the four boys started to clap again.

"We love our girls, and that's no lie, we love our girls, and this is why" they sang and Harry stepped forward.

"Rhuben Jackson. You can be pretty scary but you're dancing is hot. But if you're dating Charlie, why not give the rest of us a shot?"

"Dude, not gonna happen!" Rhuben declared.

"We love our girls, and that's no lie, we lover our girls, and that is why" McFly said and finished thier 'burn' of the girls.

"All right ladies, now it's your turn!" Patrick said, wiping the tears from his cheeks from laughing so hard as McFly sat down. Riley and Rhuben high-fived each other before the four girls got off the couch and stood in front of everybody else with their backs turned. They bobbed their knees to the chant that they made up.

"If I wasn't a female, I wonder what I'd be, if I wasn't a female-"the four of them said in unison and then Rhuben turned around and declared,

"Danny Jones is who I'd be."

"This is going to be good" Tom laughed as Danny shook his head, wondering wht Rhuben was going to say about him.

"And when I pass away, you would hear me say" Jacqui, Riley, and Gen continued.

"I like girls so much, because I'm sexy and I can do as I please, but they really hate it, when I only look from their neck down to their knees." Rhuben laughed and turned back around as the four girls started chanting again.

"If I wasn't a female, I wonder what I'd be, if I wasn't a female-"the four of them said in unison and then Jacqui turned around and declared,

"Dougie Poynter is who I'd be."

"And when I pass away, you would hear me say" Rhuben, Riley, and Gen continued.

"69 Dude! I've never had a girl love me before, until Riley came along. Maybe that's because the only love I had was from my mom!" She said and turned back around.

"I think that's true too!" Harry said and Dougie scowled and punched him on the arm.

"If I wasn't a female, I wonder what I'd be, if I wasn't a female-"the four of them said in unison and then Riley turned around and declared,

"Tom Fletcher is who I'd be."

"And when I pass away, you would hear me say" Rhuben, Jacqui, and Gen continued.

"I may look sweet with one dimple in my cheek, but you might as well know, that when it comes to girls, I'm whipped because I'm weak."

Riley stuck her tongue out at Tom, who was playfully glaring at her and she turned back around and bobbed with her friends. "If I wasn't a female, I wonder what I'd be, if I wasn't a female-"the four of them said in unison and then Gen turned around and declared,

"Harry Judd is who I'd be."

"And when I pass away, you would hear me say" Rhuben, Jacqui, and Riley continued.

"Ah, I'm going to-" Gen started to mover her lips at a rapid pace as Jacqui, Riley, and Rhuben turned around and said 'BEEEEEEEEEEEP' to cover what she could have possibly said, showing that Harry cursed a lot. And he did when something didn't go his way when he thought that he was right. The four girls turned around and continued chanting.

"If I wasn't a female, I wonder what I'd be, if I wasn't a female all of you is who I'd be."

James, Charlie, Matt, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney cheered and clapped as the four girls started to laugh "That was great!" Matt declared.

"I wonder what I could have thought of for you guys" Charlie said as he rubbed his chin.

"Do you want us to do one about you?" Tom offered.

"No!" Charlie said quickly, waving his hands.

"I didn't think so.".


	31. Chapter 30: Spring Break Pt7

**A/N: This is the last chapter of the Spring Break chapters. Then I have chapters about Prom and graduation and then this story is over. But there IS a sequel to this and I'm working on it too. Oh and the real law about driver licenses in Australia is that you have to be 16 to get your learners and 17 to get your license. **

* * *

**Chapter Thirty – Spring Break Pt.7**

"Doug, wake up"

"Just five more minuets mommy" Dougie smacked his lips and turned on his side, pulling his blankets up over his head. Rhuben exchanged a look with her sister and the two lifted up the side of his mattress, knocking him to the floor. "HEY! WHAT'D YOU DO THAT FOR?" Dougie demanded as he got to his feet.

"Get dressed, we have to be out of here in about ten minuets" Riley replied as she tossed his red New Found Glory shirt at his head.

"Why, where are we going?" Dougie asked as he pulled the shirt over his head.

"We're getting you your Driver's License" Rhuben replied causing Dougie to stop getting dressed.

"I don't want to drive" He said, his voice muffled through his shirt. Riley cocked her head to the side.

"Well answer me this question, if I was dating you and I know how to drive would you expect me to drive you around everywhere?" she asked and Dougie pulled his head through the hole in his shirt and pulled the bottom of his shirt down, grinning.

"I would say yes, but knowing you and risking a chance of my ass getting kicked, I'll say no"

"Good choice"

Dougie followed Riley and Rhuben down the stairs and into the kitchen where Julius, Patrick, Noah, Sydney, Tom, Gen, and Danny were sitting at the breakfast table. Rhuben kissed Patrick and Noah on the cheek.

"So, you guys don't mind having your birthday a day early because we have to go back to school do ya?" Rhuben asked them they turned and smiled up at her.

"No, its fine because we have all of our friends here with us" Noah grinned.

"Where are you guys going?" Gen asked when she saw the pair of keys that were in Riley's hand.

"Oh Rhuben and I have to renew our Driver's lisences and we're taking Dougie to get his" Riley replied.

"You already have your license?" Tom asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Yeah, here in Australia you get your learners at 15 and your license at 16" Sydney nodded and then his eyes grew wide with excitement. "Can I come too, watching people drive is fun"

"Sure, the more the merrier" Rhuben shrugged.

"Well then give me the keys" Julius said as he stood up, holding out his hand. "I mean, you need someone to get you there as it is, and I owe it to you"

"Thanks Julius" Riley said and hugged her older brother. She made a small face and took a step back. "Are you wearing Axe again?"

"Yes, why?" Julius asked as he gave a small smile.

"Make sure you put on a little less next time, now I smell like cologne" Riley replied and laughed.

* * *

"Ok Dougie, your turn" Rhuben said as she got out of the car and handed the keys to Dougie. He looked at them as if they were poisoned.

"No thank you," he replied and tried to hand it back.

"Oh come on Dougs, its not that hard" Gen said as she shook her head.

"That's easy for you to say, all you've been doing was watching. And Riley and Rhuben already have their licenses so I don't know what you're talking about."

"Just get in the stupid car!" Patrick cried and he and Noah shoved him into it, next to the driver instructor and shut the door. They backed up to their siblings and friends and watched along with them..

"So guys, what do you want to do for your birthday?" Tom asked, his arm was around Gen's shoulders and he had a mischievous smile on his face.

"What's with that smile?" Patrick asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Nothing, I was just wondering."

"Oh well, I'd like to go dirt biking today, we haven't done that in a long time" Noah said and grinned.

"All right!" Rhuben declared and high-fived her brother. "I _love_ dirt biking, we totally have to do that today."

"Sounds fun" Julius agreed and then winced. "Ooh, looks like Dougie just ran over a cone."

The others watched as the car moved forward and inch and the cone sprang back up. They waited a few seconds more and Dougie kept going.

"Apparently this dude thinks that if you hit a cone you're over, but it was a nice idea to just run over it" Gens said with a nod.

"Excuse me may I have your autograph" a teenage boy with a young girl beside him asked, smiling shyly.

"No problem" Riley replied and took his notebook, scribbling her name in it.

"How come you guys didn't have anybody ask for your autographs before?" Tom asked as he signed his name on the notebook and gave it back to the boy, smiling.

"Are you off your rocker?" Sydney asked as he raised his eyebrows. "We had to tell them on our website that we didn't want any fans hounding us when we got back home. If we did, we wouldn't have any privacy at all, so we told them that they can come up to us only on the last day here."

"That's a nice idea" Gen said with a nod.

"I should have thought of that when we went back to the UK" Tom admitted. He looked up as Dougie walked over to them, his hands in his pockets. "So, how'd you do mate?"

"Unfortunately for me, I got my license" He muttered in reply. Rhuben grinned and slapped him on the back. "The only good thing is now I don't have to worry about my mom driving me to buy new boxers."

"Oh, you mean the ones that you get really cheap?" Tom asked and he and Gen burst out laughing.

"Ha ha, very funny guys." Dougie said as he brushed his hair from his face.

"I thought so too" Gen teased. "Oh Dougs, Patrick and Noah said that they want to go dirt biking for their birthday are you up for it?"

"That's probably the only thing I'm up for right now."

* * *

"Hey, where'd you go this morning?" Charlie asked as soon as Rhuben stepped through the front door.

"Oh, we took Dougs to get his drivers license" she replied and smiled slightly. "Did you miss me that much?"

"Of course, if you didn't go, I was thinking that we could have taken a walk this morning" Charlie said as he wrapped his arms around Rhuben's waist, who smiled and wrapped her arms around Charlie's neck.

"Well, you should have told me then" she replied.

"It was going to be a surprise."

"I don't like surprises."

"Sure you don't" Charlie chuckled to himself and pressed his lips against hers. Rhuben smiled against his lips before kissing him back.

"Geez, you think you could hold off for two minuets so someone can get down the stairs" Danny muttered as he walked by them, purposely hitting Charlie's shoulder with his.

"Just ignore him" Charlie muttered as he glared after him.

"That's kind of hard to do" Rhuben muttered as she pulled away from Charlie's grasp and started up the stairs. "Oh, we're going dirt biking today, so get James and Matt up in about twenty minuets." She stopped walking halfway up the stairs and didn't turn around. "And _stop_ staring at my ass!"

"Sorry, can't help it!" Charlie replied, not sounding the least bit sorry.

"I _HEARD_ THAT!" Dougie shouted from the kitchen. "STOP BEING SO DISGUSTING!"

"EVERYBODY STOP YELLING!" Julius bellowed and everything was silenced.

* * *

"Ok, now I'm _way_ too terrified to even try this thing" Jacqui shuddered as she watched Julius, who was on an ATV, jumped off a roller.

"You can ride with me then" Harry offered and handed her a helmet. Jacqui beamed and pulled it over her head before getting on the back of Harry's bike, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I think its going to take a while for her to let go of him" Riley commented as she pulled gloves over her hands and flexed her fingers. "Ok you all are going to ride right? I need to know so I can see how many ATVs I need to rent."

"Dude, I'm totally going to go for this!" Matt declared.

"Same here!" James agreed and grabbed a helmet.

"I'll try, but I think I'll watch first" Gen said as she put sunglasses over her eyes. "Plus, I got the First Aid Kit, just in case someone gets hurt too."

"Wow, that definitely makes us feel _loads_ better" Charlie said as he raised an eyebrow. "Tom you have a worry wart as a girlfriend."

"Yeah, but I don't have to worry about her being stolen from me, mate" Tom replied and nodded to Danny, who was tearing down the course on his ATV. Charlie made a face as Danny pulled up next to them and took off his helmet.

"Whoah, what a rush!" he cried, his eyes shining. "Anybody want to race?"

"Dude, I'm in!" James said and pulled his helmet on. Matt nodded in agreement and pulled his helmet on too. Danny turned to Charlie, a challenging look in his eyes.

"What about _posh boy_? Fancy a race? Or are you too scared of being beaten in from of your _girlfriend_?"

"I'm in too" Charlie agreed and got onto his ATV.

"Make sure you don't hit Patrick, Noah, and Sydney" Gen called after them. The three small boys were all squished on one ATV, following after Rhuben.

"Ok, Dougie, what about you?" Riley asked, turning to the bass player, who was sitting on top of the fence.

"Not unless you want me to die and early death, I don't think so." Dougie replied and grabbed a small video camera from his pocket. "I think I'm going to be safe and tape it."

"If you say so," Riley replied and pulled her wallet out of her pocket. "Hold this for me. And if the guy needs more money, just give him my credit card. And _don't _think about sneaking off and buying things from the mall."

"I wouldn't _dream _of it" Dougie replied in a innocent tone.

"Sure" Riley replied and started to walked towards the ditch that was on the side of the course.

"Wait, aren't you going to go dirt biking?" Dougie called after her.

"I am"

"But the ATVs are over there."

"Who said I was riding an ATV?" Riley asked as she picked up a motocross bike out from the ditch. She balanced it between her legs and hit the kick start, before sitting down on the bike and racing off down the track.

"Hey Dougs, get this, we're going to have a race!" Gen called, waving her arms in a windmill motion.

"Sweet" Dougie cried and jumped off the fence and ran over to where Gen was standing, turning on the video camera. "What's the race for?"

"Apparently it's the race for Rhuben's heart" Tom replied and snickered.

Wow, _this_ is going to be interesting" Dougie grinned and high-fived Tom and Gen, who nodded in agreement.

"On your mark, get set….GO!" Tom shouted over the roar of the ATVs. James, Matt, Charlie, and Danny shot forward and started to race around the track. The Jacksons slowed down so they could go by and watched in curiosity. Harry and Jacqui quickly got off of the track and stood next to Tom, Gen, and Dougie.

"Do you want to go out sometime?" Harry shouted over at Jacqui, who looked at him in confusion.

"What?" she shouted back. He leaned closer and shouted again.

"Do you want to go out with me?"

"WHAT?!" Jacqui shouted as the four boys raced by and everything was silent. Harry grabbed Jacqui's shoulders.

"DO YOU WANT TO GO OUT WITH ME?" Harry shouted and then froze when he realized that it was quiet and Tom, Gen, and Dougie were staring at him.

"Sure" she replied and beamed.

"Wow, it's a good thing I go that on tape, now I can laugh and laugh and laugh forever" Dougie teased.

"Sure, then we can laugh at you and how you don't have a girlfriend." Harry shot back causing Dougie to frown.

They watched as Danny and Charlie crossed over the finish line, closely followed by James and Matt. Danny and Charlie threw off their helmets and glared at each other.

"I won!" they declared in unison and started to argue with each other. The Jacksons rode over to the two of them and Rhuben got off her ATV and dragged Danny outside of the fence a few feet away from the others.

"God damn it, Danny! Can't you go one day without having to argue with him?" Rhuben demanded.

"I wouldn't have to worry about it if I wasn't-"

"So jealous of him dating me?" Rhuben interrupted quietly and when Danny didn't answer, she knew that she was right. "Danny, let me tell you the reason that I'm dating him. It's because, with him I know that he's not going to hurt me later in life. But with you, I can't be too sure."

"Do you think you'd ever change your mind?" Danny asked, seeming to understand what she was saying. Rhuben was surprised, he was taking it easier than she expected.

"No, I don't think so" Rhuben replied and then continued, seeing the sad look on Danny's face. "But, you're like a brother to me, and its cool like that. I don't think things need to change." She waited for him to say something before continuing. "So, we cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool" Danny smiled in reply. Rhuben grinned and hugged him tightly. "Just no PDA, that's all I ask."

"Deal."

* * *

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Pat and Noah, Happy Birthday do you" Sydney sang with the others as Riley set their birthday cake down in front of the twin boys.

"Blow out the candles and make a wish" Jacqui said. Patrick and Noah looked at each other before puffing up their cheeks. Before they could blow out the candles, it was blown out by the wind, causing everybody to laugh.

"Hey, it's fine, as long as it doesn't get washed away by the ocean waves" Patrick laughed as Gen started to cut the cake and pass it out to everyone. Patrick and Noah said that they wanted a birthday on the beach, so they had a large party which lots of people came to and the three bands performed a little bit.

"Here, open this gift first, its from Gen and Me" Tom said and handed Patrick and Noah two large boxes. Eagerly, they tore it open and gaped at what was inside.

"Wow, that must have been expensive" James commented as Patrick and Noah held up their new leather vests.

"It was my idea, but of course, Tom paid for most of it" Gen replied.

"I love it, thanks guys!" Noah cried, his eyes shining.

"This one is from all of us guys in Busted" Matt said and handed a bag to Patrick. "You guys are going to have to share it though, I know that your siblings are going to want to use it. He pulled out a Xbox 360.

"Whoa, we don't have that yet" Sydney cried as he grabbed the box and started to look it over.

"Be careful, or that's going to be Sydney's" Jacqui laughed. "Ok, these next two gifts are from Harry, Danny, and me" she said and handed them two more bags. They pulled two shoe boxes out and then pulled the boxes open, staring at the shoes that were on the inside. "Those are custom made Sparky and Pro Vans."

"Sparky and Pro?" James asked, making a face.

"Sparky is my nickname and Pro is his" Patrick replied. "Wow, that's so cool, so like, nobody else can have these?"

"Not unless you want to sell them and make money off of it" Harry replied.

"Don't encourage them" Julius muttered in reply.

"And from me, you two get my old acoustic guitars" Dougie said and handed it to them.

"Thank you" Noah breathed and strummed a chord, making a face at the sound. Dougie laughed sheepishly.

"It's just not tuned, I haven't played them for a while." Dougie replied and then turned to Riley, Rhuben, and Julius. "What did you guys get them?"

"Oh we gave them their presents as soon as they woke up" Riley replied.

"Well, what was it?" Charlie asked.

"You'll find out later" Rhuben replied and got up, brushing sand off of her legs. "Picture time."

She walked towards the water and turned around, focusing her camera as the others smiled brightly. She took the picture and gaped at the back of the camera. "Uh guys, you know what I just realized?" she asked, walking back over to them.

"What's that?" Sydney asked curiously.

"Well, we're going back to L.A. today, and we're going to miss our flight if we don't hurry home and get packed" She replied.

There was a moment of stunned silence until everybody started to scream and run back up the beach.

"Wait for me…..wait for me" Sydney gasped as he slowly ran behind the others, dragging the Xbox 360 box behind him.


	32. Chapter 31: Prom

**A/N: This is one of the last four chapters in this story. The first two are about prom and the last two are about graduation. But, there is a sequel and it has to do with their summer vacation. And then there's a sequel to that about their next year in school. Unfortunately sometime next week I'll have to turn in my laptop to the school so I can get a new one for next year and I won't be able to update until July. So you'll have to go on for about a month without our lovely updates, but knowing that we're still writing should keep you occupied.**

**Oh and it's a DougiexRiley centered chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty One – Prom**

"Is anyone else as tired as I am?" James asked that Wednesday. He had been asking that question ever since they got back from Australia, on Monday. Since they had lost a day…or gained a day, they weren't that great with the scheduling, the teenagers were barely able to go through the school week without falling asleep at least once. The only good thing about the end of the week was that it was prom, but not everybody was looking forward to it.

"Oh, guys, I heard that we're supposed to get a new student today" Gen said as everybody sat in the lounge during their free period.

"Why is it that we get students towards the end of the year?" Tom muttered sleepily, his eyes closed.

"I don't know, but I asked the front desk and they said that the person that is coming to the school Rhuben and I should remember, Rhuben especially" Riley replied, sitting on the floor, repeatedly snapping a rubber band onto her wrist.

"That's not helpful, there are a lot of people that you and I know that-"Rhuben cut her sentence short as she let out a cry of shock, after being knocked off the couch and onto the floor. "Holy shit that hurt, next time why don't you-Riz? I can't believe it, what are you doing here?"

Riley looked over and gave a small smile.

Arizona Alexander was Rhuben's pen-pal from North Shore Hawaii. They had to do pen-pals back when they were in fifth grade and those two kept in touch for five years. She was their age except a little bit younger, so she was still fifteen. She is a fun and outgoing person who speaks her mind. She jumps from subject to subject when she's talking. Her only problem is that she's a major flirt, and most times doesn't realize it. She is raised by her single mom who is a model and has a Dad who is in senate, her parents are divorced.. Since she lives in Hawaii she has an almost permanent tan, long black curly hair that has a dark purple tint. She has bright teal eyes and a pretty smile and is about 5' 5", taller than Riley, Rhuben, and Gen, who are 5"3. She has been a pro surfer since she was fourteen.

"I go to this school now" Arizona 'Riz' replied as she got to her feet and pulled Rhuben up from the floor. Rhuben laughed when she noticed everybody starting at her.

"Right, sorry guys," she apologized and then turned to Arizona. "Riz, you remember Riley, Gen, and Jacqui. And these are our other friends, Harry, Tom, Gen's boyfriend, Danny, Dougie, James, Mat, and my boyfriend Charlie"

"No way, you're dating Charlie Simpson from Busted?" Riz asked, her eyes growing wide. "Mr. Sexiest man in the UK?"

"Yeah, I guess" Rhuben replied, looking uncomfortable. "Anyway, guys, this is Arizona Alexander."

"Nice to meet you" Tom said as he opened an eye and then closed it again.

"Don't mind Tom, we just got back from Australia yesterday" Gen said as she reached over and smoothed Tom's hair off of his forehead. "It's nice to see you again, Riz."

"Nice to see you guys too." Riz nodded. "So, I heard that Prom is this Friday are there any guys here that I should take?"

"You could take Danny, I hear he's desperate" Harry laughed and mussed Danny's curly hair.

"Or Matt, he's desperate too" Rhuben joked back and Matt slapped her on the back of the head. Riz laughed before sitting down on the ground.

"I guess I'll just look around today, there's plenty of guys at this school that I would like to date" she said and winked and laughed. Rhuben shook her head as she sat down on the couch next to Charlie and rested her head on his shoulder.

"That's one other thing I forgot to mention, she's a major flirt. If you thought that Jacqui was bad, Riz is worse."

"Can we please _not_ talk about the prom?" Riley asked suddenly.

"What? Is something wrong with the Proms here?" James asked, looking at her curiously. Riley looked at him, a unrecognizable look in her eyes.

"The Prom here is fine, I just don't see why everybody gets so worked up about them. I mean, something bad always happens. And if its not to you its to someone else and then somehow you get dragged into it. I'm sorry if I don't want to be one of the people who has to worry about something." She replies stiffly as she stood up. "I have to go, I have a Art Project I need to finish. Later"

Grabbing her backpack, Riley slung it over her shoulder and walked out of the lounge and down the front stairs towards the art section of the building.

"What's her problem?" Matt asked as he raised a curious eyebrow.

"I have no idea" Jacqui replied. "Most times when it comes to a dance she is kind of excited to go. But here's a good thing, we get our yearbooks that day too!"

"Sweet, I _love_ the yearbooks!" Gen cried. "All the pictures are so funny and it makes me really sad to leave the school for the summer.

"Way to go Tom, you picked a sentimental as a girlfriend" Danny laughed.

"Tom?" Dougie asked when Danny didn't get a reply. He sat up and everybody looked at Tom, who was snoring softly.

* * *

"Hey, are you ok?"

Riley looked up from the clay sculpture that was sitting in front of her and wiped her paint covered hands onto her smock before turning to Dougie. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" She got up and walked to the other side of the room and grabbed another jar of paint. "What?" she asked when she saw him staring at her.

"You know you can't lie to me, I know what you do when you lie" Dougie replied.

"And I know what _you_ do when you lie" Riley shot back.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dougie asked as he raised his eyebrows in shock. "I don't do anything to show that I lie."

"Yes you do, your nostrils flare when you lie" Riley replied. "Jazzie told me when I was at your house for Christmas. Apparently you lie a lot if she notices it too."

"Yeah well, your eye twitches when you lie!" Dougie shot back as he pointed in her face. "And you were lying when you said that you were ok? What's going on Riles, why don't you like the Prom?"

"I told you before, Proms are fine, I just don't like going" she replied and continued to paint her sculpture.

"Why?" Dougie asked as he sat on the table in front of her, careful no to touch any pain. "Hey, I'm your best friend, you can tell me" he said when he saw the look on Riley's face. She sighed and set down her paint.

"I never have any fun" she replied. "I don't know why, I have fun performing with my siblings. But when I go to dances and _don't _perform, I don't know, I feel kind of stupid. And like I said before, something bad happens and I hate it even more."

"Well, what would you say if you went with me?" Dougie asked slowly, not looking at her.

"What?"

"D'you want to go to the Prom with me?" Dougie asked again. Riley sighed deeply before setting down her paintbrush.

"No, sorry Dougs, I'm not going. Besides, I have to work that night." She replied.

"Oh. It's ok. It's perfectly ok. I understand that you wouldn't want to go with me. Right. I'll see you later" Dougie said and quickly left the room. Riley snickered as she shook her head.

"Liar" she muttered and continued to paint.

* * *

**PROM NIGHT**

Riley opened her dorm room door and was greeted with a high hell smacking her in the side of the face. She bent down and picked it up, glaring at Jacqui, who grinned sheepishly and took the high-hell from her hand.

"What are you glaring at her for, we should be glaring at you" Gen commented as she turned away from the mirror, applying blush to her cheek.

"Why, I took my meds today, I didn't say anything mean to you did I?" Riley widened her eyes. "'Cause if I did, I totally didn't mean it."

"Not that!" Riz replied. "The girls told me how much Dougie likes you and we were completely shocked when we found out that you turned him down for a date to Prom."

"Oh by the way, who are you going with?" Riley asked her.

"Oh, I'm going with-"

"Don't change the subject!" Rhuben snapped. "How could you say 'no' to him?"

"And this is coming from the girl who is dating the six foot giant? _And _is going to the Prom with him" Riley asked her sister in amusement as she sat down on her bed and grabbed a skateboard magazine. Jacqui ripped it from her hands and threw it out the window. "You better go get that."

"As soon as you tell us why you turned Dougie down for a date to the Prom" Jacqui replied. "We don't get it, he likes you, you like him, why won't you go with him?"

"Wait, does this have to do with what happened at the Prom last year?" Gen asked suddenly. Riley narrowed her eyes, thinking and Gen took that for her answer. "You know none of that was your fault."

"You shouldn't be dwelling on that either." Rhuben added. Riley grunted and looked away. "Here, we got you a dress to wear" she said and handed Riley a dress that was on a hanger, to which she tossed aside.

"I'm not going" she replied firmly. "I have to work tonight anyways, so you guys have fun and I'll see you later."

"What were you guys talking about just a few seconds ago?" Riz asked, breaking the silence.

"I told you in one letter, remember" Rhuben replied as she turned and mouthed something to her. And then Riz nodded and Rhuben groaned at the look on her face.

"Well, I don't see why she's being so negative about the whole Prom experience. She could stop being negative, it just makes the world tilt."

"What?" Jacqui and Gen cried in unison.

"It's her philosophy, ignore her" Rhuben replied and Riz punched her on the arm.

"So, what do you guys think?" She asked as she spun around for Rhuben, Gen, and Jacqui to see.

"I think Danny's going to _love_ that dress" Jacqui replied.

"Who said it was only for Danny?" Riz asked and grinned.

"Like I said before, ignore her"

* * *

"Riley, you're still here?" Tom, the manager of the Cascade Café, asked as he walked over to her from behind the front counter. Riley stood up and smirked.

"Well, don't you look nice" She smirked when she saw him in his tux.

"Yeah, I'm about to take Melanie to our Prom" Tom replied. They go to a different school than Riley and the others. "Shouldn't you be at yours?"

"I'm not going" Riley replied and continued to wipe down the table she was at.

"Why not?" Tom asked. "Even though I'm your boss, you can tell me anything."

"I know, thanks, but I don't feel like talking" Riley replied and changed the subject. "I'm guessing you hear about my dad, right?"

"Yeah, you guys are welcome to stay at my apartment if you have nowhere else to go." Tom offered.

"No, its fine. You can leave, I'll just lock up and go back to my dorm."

"You sure?"

"Totally"

"All right, I'll see you later."

"See Ya"

Riley sighed and continued to wipe down the tables, and was busy on the last one when she heard the bell over the front door jingly, signaling her that someone had come into the restaurant.

"We're closed" she said without looking up.

"Then you may want to take the 'OPEN' sign off of the door" Dougie replied as she tossed it onto the table. Riley looked up at him and stared. His hair was brushed back and he was dressed in a tux, complete with a flower on the lapel of his coat. He had a carnation in his hands.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him. "And why are you so dressed up, I thought you'd be at the Prom."

"That's where you should be too." Dougie replied and handed her the carnation. "Come on, I have you dress in the back of Tom's car."

"Why are you doing this, Dougs?" Riley asked, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Because I'm your friend and I care about you. Besides, the girls told me about what happened at your last prom and I'm on a mission so you have a good Prom." He replied.

"Sure"

"I'm serious."

Riley stared at him. Her friends and her sister were right, saying that she liked Dougie. But since she was an abused child, she was afraid to admit it because she didn't know weather he would be a caring boyfriend or just someone else who wanted to hurt her. She doubted it. Either way, she was going to tell him how she felt.

"Dougs, there's something I need to tell you" she said, looking down at her feet and then looking up at him.

"Not now, you're coming with me to the Prom" Dougie said and grabbed her elbow, and dragged her out of the restaurant.

"Fine."

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I'm not going into detail about the Prom. They had fun, just leave it at that. Next chapter is about After Prom and then the two graduation chapters. And then the story is OVER! Thanks for the reviews guys!**


	33. Chapter 32: After Prom

**Ok, besides the chapters of DE-Fly and I Predict a Riot, that I'm working on right now, I'm going to focus mainly on this story so I can get it finished and post the first chapter of the sequel before I turn in my laptop and not update until July.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty Two – After Prom**

"So, Riley, are you glad that Dougs dragged you off to the Prom?" James asked a he grabbed a French Fry off of Tom's plate and shoved it into his mouth as Tom glared at him.

"Yes and No" Riley shrugged in reply, although there was a small smile on her face.

Dougie had dragged her to the dance, as it was half over, and had forced her to have a good time. It must have worked because shortly after she got there, Jacqui and Riz dragged her off to the dance floor with Rhuben and Charlie and the large group of them danced together. During one of the slow dances, she had grabbed Matt and forced him to dance with her, to which he accepted, afraid of what could happen if he refused. There were lots of other fast paced to which they all danced to and took lots of pictures. It was a fun night, especially when Riley and Rhuben tried to teach McFly and Busted how to do the Electric Slide.

"Aww come on, you know you wouldn't have had a good time unless I dragged you there" Dougie said as he looked over the menu that was in his hands.

After the Prom, the group tried to figure out where to go since on Prom Night everybody in high school were able to stay out as late as they wanted to. It was Gen's suggestion that they go to a restaurant, and then they got into a huge argument about what restaurant to go to, so they decided to go to the mall and go to the food court.

"That's true, thanks Dougs" Riley said and gave a genuine smile.

"Oh my god, it's the sign of the apocalypse, Riley Jackson actually smiled!" Harry declared as he stuck his finger in her face. Everybody laughed as she pushed his hand away.

"Dougie, you've eaten like, what, everything on the menu?" Charlie asked him. "And you're going to eat more?"

"Actually, its considering the fact that I danced caused my body to want to eat more" he replied.

"You mean, the fact that you _tried_ to dance, mate" Matt shot back, causing everybody to laugh again.

"So, Riz, did you have fun at your first Prom?" Rhuben asked her friend teasingly and smirked when Danny and Riz both blushed.

"I don't think they spent much time on the dance floor, than they did in that dark corner" James replied.

"Standing on a corner, watching all the girls go by," Jacqui started to sing. "I _loved_ that play. Anyway, you guys have to sign my yearbook before you leave" she said to James, Charlie, and Matt. Charlie looked scared as everybody else stopped talking.

"What do you mean you're leaving?" Gen asked as she raised her eyebrows.

"Charles?" Matt and James asked in unison.

"W-w-w-well, what we mean is that w-w-w-w-we're going on tour." Charlie replied.

"You didn't know that?" Rhuben asked, raising her eyebrows.

"You _did_ know that?" Matt asked her.

"For one thing, Dougie can't keep a secret." Rhuben replied. "And another thing, Fletch pretty much announced it to the whole word, its not my fault that I like to listen to the radio. What, did you not want me to know? I'm proud of you guys."

"I'm surprised that you're not making a joke about it" Matt said. "Especially about me, I mean, it doesn't seem like you're you."

"I was thinking the exact same thing." Danny said with a nod. "I mean, you guys are always at each other's throats."

"Well, since its Prom Night, we decided to give him a break" Riley replied.

"And on that note, I propose that we got do something fun" Harry declared. Dougie looked up at him, his cheeks bulging with the food that were in his mouth.

"More fun than eating?" he mumbled.

"Yes, something more fun than eating. And I know Tom is going to like it a lot because it has to do with space, kind of" Harry replied, turning to his friend. Tom's eyes grew wide with excitement."

"Laser tag?"

"Yep."

"Sweetness, let's go!" James declared as he leapt to his feet. "C'mon guys, laser tag, we gotta get to laser tag!"

"Wow, he's even more of a kid than Syd is" Riz laughed as she stood up. "Well, from what you've told me."

"C'mon, you're going to _love_ laser tag" Danny said as he took her hand. The others got up from the table.

"I'll be there in a minute, I'm going to make sure that Dougie doesn't throw up" Riley laughed as she pulled out her yearbook and started to look through it. Dougie beamed as he continued to eat.

"Hey, I'll sign your yearbook if you sign mine" Dougie said through a mouthful as he slid his yearbook across the table to her and waved to the others.

"Fine, as long as you don't write anything mean or disgusting in there."

"I wouldn't dream of it."


	34. Chapter 33: Graduation Part 1: Moving On

**A/N: Next chapter is the last one. Thanks for the reviews, and there is going to be a sequel, and Riz is going to appear in that too. Tis chapter was made to be short on purpose, as is the next one.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty Three – Graduation Part 1**

For the girls, Playing Laser Tag in dresses wasn't the smartest idea they have ever had. It was hard for them to run around and since the dresses had sparkly bits to it, it was easy to see in the dark, so they lost miserably, compared to the guys who were smart enough to button up their coats and practically blend in with the darkness.

It was really fun, especially since the boys thought of a plethora of sex jokes and were randomly shouting them to each other as they ran around, shooting each other with beams of light. Then they went back home and crashed, sleeping all afternoon. Except for Riley and Rhuben, who had to wake up early to go with Julius and their other brothers to make sure that they had everything ready for his graduation.

* * *

The school year was over; the students had finished taking their exams and were now getting ready for the graduation that was going to start in five minuets. Busted were packing, because they had to leave as soon as the graduation was over, and everybody else was getting ready for things to change, they had a lot of stuff to do during the summer.

"JB, MJ, Charlie, hurry us!" Riley called as she banged on the door of their dorm room. "The graduation is going to start soon and I don't want to-"

"Hold you horses, yeah, we're almost ready" Matt said as he opened the front door and stuck his head out.

"Yeah, we don't want you to crap your pants over this" James added as he poked his head over Matt's. Charlie's head appeared next.

"How come I don't have a cool nick name like they do?" he asked in a whiny tone.

"Two things, I'm wearing a dress so I wouldn't be able to crap my pants" Riley said and flicked James on the forehead. "Another thing, would you want me to call you CS for the rest of your life? No thanks."

"True" Charlie nodded.

"Come on already, you can finish packing afterwards" Riley said and grabbed their arms before dragging them out of the dorm. "Now come on"

"Wow, I would hate to see what happens when you get pissed off" Matt said dryly and laughed as Riley swung her arm at his head, trying to hit him, but he ducked and ran away before she could hit him.

* * *

The Jacksons, Busted, McFly, Gen, Jacqui, and Riz watched the graduation and cheered for the seniors they had gotten to know and cheered the loudest when Julius, complete with a foolish grin, accepted his diploma from the dean of the school and posed for pictures. The graduation ended with the graduating class of 2008 taking their motor boards and tossed it into the air. Then it took them another half hour to take pictures of the Jacksons who were equally happy about their brother graduating, and sad about him leaving them. Then they all went back to the Senior lounge where they were having a big party for the graduates.

"Um, can I have your attention please?" Sydney asked in a tiny voice, and then frowned when no one paid attention to him. With Patrick's and Noah's help, he climbed onto a table and faced everybody. "QUIET!" He shouted, stunning everybody into silence. "Thank you" he said annoyed as Patrick and Noah climbed up onto the table beside him.

"We just wanted to say how happy we are that you guys are graduating" Noah started.

"It's mostly because we don't have to worry about you guys screaming and shouting at anybody anymore" Patrick added with a laugh.

"But we're really going to miss our brother and we wanted to play a song for him, with the help of McFly of course" Sydney said and jumped down from the table and grabbed a flute that was laying on the floor. Riley, Rhuben, Tom, Danny, Patrick, and Dougie picked up acoustic guitars and they sat down on chairs that were sitting in a row.

"This is to say thank you for all that you've done, Julius" Riley said into a microphone and nodded to Tom.

"1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4" he muttered and they started to play.

**Tom: **When you're down and troubled  
And you need a helping hand  
And nothing, nothing is going right  
**Riley: **Close your eyes and think of me  
And soon I will be there  
To brighten up even your darkest night

**Tom/Riley/Patrick: **You just call out my name  
And you know wherever I am  
I'll come running to see you again  
Winter, spring, summer or fall  
All you have to do is call  
And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.  
You've got a friend

**Danny: **If the sky above you  
Should grow dark and full of clouds  
And that old north wind should begin to blow  
**Rhuben: **Keep your head together  
And call my name out loud, yeah  
Soon I'll be knocking upon your door

**Danny/Rhuben/Noah: **You just call out my name  
And you know wherever I am  
I'll come running, oh yes I will  
To see you again  
Winter, spring, summer or fall  
All you have to do is call  
And I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.

**Tom: **Ain't it good to know that you've got a friend  
When people can be so cold  
They'll hurt you, and desert you  
And take your soul if you let them  
Oh yeah, but don't you let them

**Danny: **You just call out my name  
And you know wherever I am  
I'll come running to see you again  
Winter, spring, summer or fall  
All you have to do is call  
And I'll be there, yes I will.  
You've got a friend

**All: **Oh, you've got a friend.  
Aint it good to know you've got a friend.  
Aint it good to know you've got a friend.

Oh yeah  
You've got a friend.

"What'd you think, Julius?" Sydney asked eagerly as he ran over and climbed into his lap. Julius beamed and tickled his baby brother in the ribs.

"I thought it was great" he said and smiled and his siblings. "Thank you guys, you know I'm going to miss you right?"

"Of course" Julius said and pulled the rest of them into a tight hug.


	35. Chapter 34: Graduation Part 2: Summer

**A/N: This chapter is kind of short too, its going through all of the friendships and pairings that was in this story. Whew, we updated all of our stories before we had to turn in our laptop, that's an accomplishment for me. Read on!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty Four – Graduation Part 2**

"So, what are you doing this summer?" Tom asked Gen as they walked through campus hand-in-hand, their other hands were holding onto their bags.

"I'm going to do some more modeling, and I might go with the Jackson when they go on tour. But I'm not sure; I haven't spent time with my mom and dad recently." Gen shrugged in reply. "What about you?"

"Apart from missing you like crazy, we're doing a Europe and UK tour. But we're going home to see our families first. We haven't seen them in a while" Tom replied and then remembered something. "Oh, I write a poem for you." He said and fished in his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. "Just promise that you won't read it until you get on the plane, its kind of embarrassing."

"That's ok, thanks Tom, I never had a poem written for me before, and you're really sweet." Gen smiled and dropped her bag on the floor, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him.

* * *

"Argh, come on you little…" Jacqui cried, her foot on the side of her suitcase, she was tugging on the arm of her jacket.

"Yeah, it might be easier if you actually _opened_ the suitcase" Harry said as he walked by her and snapped the clasps open, causing her to shriek and stumble back on the floor, her mountain of clothes falling out of it on top of her. Harry burst out laughing and slapped his knees.

"I'm glad I entertain you" Jacqui grumbled as he brushed a chunk of her black/red hair out of her green eyes. "The least you could do is help me pack this up, _again_."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Harry apologized, still laughing as he took her hands and pulled her to her feet.

"Sure, you can repay me by putting all of that back in" she replied as she sat down on her bed and crossed her legs underneath her.

"So what are you doing all summer?" Harry asked as he started to pack up her clothes again.

"Um, going back to New Jersey, if not that, going on the summer tour with the Jacksons. That is, if they want me along." Jacqui replied.

"Why wouldn't they want you along, you're their best friend" Harry replied, looking at her.

"That's the thing, Gen, she sings with them. All I do is babysit Riley's and Rhuben's brothers when they're gone. I really don't do anything to help them." Jacqui muttered in reply.

"Ok, I really shouldn't be telling you this, but they're going to get you to sing a bit on their CDs soon." Harry replied.

"Really? Sweet!" Jacqui cried, getting excited.

"So you'll get depressed about not being able to sing but you won't miss me?" Harry asked sarcastically. "Thanks, I feel loved."

"Yeah, cause I won't miss the Haz" Jacqui replied, rolling her eyes and then gave him a quick hug. "Don't forget, you promised that at least _once_ during the summer we'll meet up and make fun of everybody and drive them nuts."

"It's a date" Harry replied and gave her a kiss on the temple, his cheeks turning red.

* * *

"Dude, it's called _lifting from the knees_" Rhuben laughed at Matt as he and James struggled to lift up a big box.

"And its called, don't boss my mates around, yeah" Charlie replied as he came up behind Rhuben and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his cheek against his. "You do seem to have a problem with that."

"Is it _my_ fault that Matt doesn't know what he's doing?" Rhuben asked innocently and then shook her head. "Where did Danny and Riz go?"

"They're on the other side of the bus and trust me, you don't want to go over there" Dougie laughed as he, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney walked off of the bus before getting more boxes put into their arms.

"Ok guys, I think that's everything" James said as he wiped off his forehead. "We should get going, we have to tour Asia."

"Is everybody going off for a tour this summer?" Riz asked, scratching her head as she and Danny came out from the other side of the bus, fixing their clothes.

"Pretty much" Tom agreed and he gave James a one armed hug. "See you soon, dude."

"See ya, let me know if you need help writing any songs or anything." James replied. Hugs and promises were exchanged as everybody said goodbye to each other.

"Dude, Riley, Rhuben, I'm totally going to miss you guys making fun of Matt all of the time, that totally made my day" James said as he hugged the two girls goodbye.

"I know, that was _so_ much fun" Riley said and smirked at Matt, who rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, my turn!" he said and opened his arms wide before picking both of them up in a big bear hug. "Aw, I'm going to miss those arguments that we've had. They were so much fun."

"Matt, its called oxygen" Rhuben gasped for air.

"Yeah, don't kill my girlfriend, dude" Charlie added and Matt laughed as he set them down on the ground again.

"We're going to miss you too, Mattie." Riley grinned and hugged him. Rhuben's eyes lit up and she dug her digital camera out of her backpack and held it up in front of their faces and they smiled brightly and took a picture.

"What, no pictures of us?" James asked teasingly.

"Half of the ones are here are with you and Charlie" Rhuben replied.

"Ok, now we really have to go" Charlie said before turning to Rhuben and giving her a passionate kiss to which the others made cat calls to them. "Bye, I'll call you everyday, I promise."

"Ok, bye" Rhuben smiled in reply and gave him a tight hug before the three of them got onto the bus and pulled away from the school.

"Bye guys, we have to go now or we'll miss our flights!" Gen called and she, Riz, and Jacqui started to run towards the limo that pulled up to the school.

"See you next year!" Riz called and blew everybody a kiss before getting in.

"THANKS FOR THE LIMO GUYS!" Jacqui shouted to the DarkElements and to McFly before they got into the limo and drove away.

"Our bus is going to be here soon and we have to say goodbye to a few more people" Tom said and he and Danny and Harry started back towards the dorm building. "You coming Dougs?" he asked when he noticed that he wasn't following them.

"I'll be there in a minute" Dougie replied, quickly glancing towards Riley, who was walking towards a bench, writing in a yearbook.

"Ok, we'll see you later" Tom said and he, Danny, and Harry walked away. Rhuben noticed the look that Dougie gave and quickly ushered her brothers away.

"So, are you done with my yearbook yet?" Dougie asked as he sat down next to Riley. She lifted her head and gave a smile.

"Yep, just finished." She replied and handed it back to him. "But don't read it out loud."

"Why, is it embarrassing?" Dougie asked teasingly as he took it back and Riley shrugged.

"Pretty much" she replied, pulling her hair out of her face.

"Ooh, then I _want_ to read it out loud." Dougie said and flipped to the part of the book that had her signature.

"Don't you dare!" Riley cried reaching for it. Laughing, Dougie pulled it out of her grasp and started to run away, she chased after him as fast as she could run in flip-flops, which wasn't really that fast. Dougie opened the book and tried to read it over his head, but was hit in the back with a flip flop.

"Did you just throw a flip-flop at my head?" he demanded, looking at her in shock.

"That would explain why I'm burning my foot on the asphalt" Riley replied as she picked it up off the ground. "So, what'd you write in my yearbook?"

"Why should I tell you if you won't let me read yours?" Dougie asked in reply, raising an eyebrow.

"I already said, because its embarrassing."

"Well, so is mine."

"It couldn't be more embarrassing than mine."

"Wanna bet?" The two burst out laughing, Riley stopped first and looked at him serenely. "What?" he asked when he saw her staring.

"Not much, just thinking about how much I'm going to miss my best friend over the summer" she replied and gave him a big hug, which he returned.

"How do you think I'm going to feel?" he replied and then looked up when he heard a car horn beep.

"Oh, that's my brother, go to go" Riley said and kissed Dougie's cheek before turning to grab her bag.

"Wait a second" Dougie said and grabbed her arm he turned her around and pressed his lips against hers, gently caressing her cheeks with his hands and Riley kissed him back.

"What was that for?" she whispered when he pulled away. Dougie licked his lips before looking at the ground and sticking his hands into his pockets.

"That's more or less what my note in my yearbook said, that and it explained my feelings for you" he replied, looking up at her through his bangs, as if he was a little boy in trouble. Riley grinned.

"What a coincidence, that's pretty much the same thing I wrote in yours" she replied and quickly kissed him again. "But I really have to go, bye!" she said and got into the mini van that Julius was driving.

The Jacksons waved to Dougie out of the car window before heading home.

"Guess what guys?" Sydney said, turning around in the front seat.

"What?" the others asked, smiles on their faces.

"WE'RE GOING ON TOUR!" They all shouted at the tops of their lungs and started to scream and cheer as they drove home.

**THE END**

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews for this story guys! It was a lot of fun. Now, there IS going to be a sequel, but there's technically going to be two of them. The one where it talks about them on the Summer tours is the real one and the other one where they are counselors at a summer camp will be a 'spin-off sequel'. **

**Thanks again and I'll try to update when I can, but I can't guarantee that I will be able to before July.**


	36. SEQUEL INFO

**SEQUEL INFO**

Sorry I didn't put this up before, I completely forgot. The sequel(s) to 'You've Got a Friend' are going to be called 'It's Been a Summer' and 'Endless Summer'.

It's Been a Summer: McFly, Busted, and the DarkElements are going on their summer tours. But when they thought that the tours would be full of signing autographs and holding concerts, too much drama gets in the way.

Endless Summer: McFly thought that after a year of school they would be off the hook, but then Jake tells them there's something else they have to do. Become Camp Counselors. It should be easy, considering that they get paid while they work, but what they didn't expect was to get new enemies and to have their ex-girlfriends be there too.

**So, which one would you guys like to see first, 'It's Been A Summer' or 'Endless Summer' you get to choose because you're the best reviewers I've ever had, and the fact that this story was fun to write too.**


	37. SEQUEL INFO 2

**SEQUEL INFO 2**

**Thanks for all of your help guys, I have decided to put up 'Endless Summer' first. And because of you guys, it's already up, there's only a prologue so far, but check it out.**


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